Cancún Honors Its Rescuers After Humanitarian Mission in Venezuela
The Benito Juárez municipal government recognized the BRIC, Topos Quintana Roo, SARMX and Fire Department teams that worked in La Guaira after the magnitude-7.5 earthquake on June 25; the operation found four survivors and recovered six bodies.
Cancún, Quintana Roo.— The municipal government of Benito Juárez recognized the Cancún-based rescue teams that traveled to Venezuela to support search, rescue and humanitarian aid efforts after the magnitude-7.5 earthquake that struck the country on June 25, 2026. The municipality's secretary general, Pablo Gutiérrez Fernández, led the recognition ceremony on July 8, the day the contingent returned to Cancún.
The deployment included members of the Cancún International Rescue Brigade (BRIC) — accredited as MEX-11 by Mexico's National Civil Protection System — along with personnel from Topos Quintana Roo, SARMX, the Heroic Fire Department of Benito Juárez and the municipal General Directorate of Civil Protection. While in Venezuela, the teams concentrated their work in La Guaira, one of the areas hit hardest by the earthquake, where they inspected more than 20 collapsed buildings with the support of canine search units — including the rescue dog Chopper — and sound-detection equipment. The Cancún teams also trained local Venezuelan firefighters and rescuers in structural search techniques.
According to Alberto Aguilar, head of Topos Quintana Roo, the operation located four people alive and recovered six bodies from the rubble. The Cancún contingent's participation was part of a broader Mexican federal response: through the Secretariat of National Defense, the government sent roughly 250 rescue and medical personnel to Venezuela in the days following the earthquake.
The Cancún team arrived back through Terminal 2 of Cancún International Airport, where relatives, fellow rescuers and members of the city's Venezuelan community welcomed them home.
What it means for Cancún
The recognition underscores that much of the city's rescue capacity — BRIC, Topos Quintana Roo and SARMX — rests on civil associations that rely on volunteers and agreements with the municipal government to deploy, whether for local emergencies or international missions. The brigades themselves note that the experience gained in Venezuela also strengthens their ability to respond to emergencies in Cancún, from structural accidents to weather-related disasters.
How to help or report an emergency
Residents interested in volunteering with these brigades can contact the Benito Juárez General Directorate of Civil Protection or the rescue associations directly. To report any emergency in Cancún or elsewhere in Quintana Roo, the national emergency line is 911, available 24 hours a day.
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