The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), and the entire Philippine revolutionary movement commiserated and expressed revolutionary solidarity with the people of Venezuela after two successive strong earthquakes struck the country on June 24.

Party chief information officer Marco L. Valbuena in a June 25 statement conveyed the firm solidarity and support of revolutionary forces in the Philippines for the Venezuelan people in their recovery from the severe disaster.

“We are one with you as you struggle to recover and rebuild from the devastation. We express our solidarity as you rise from the rubbles, even as you resist intensifying US imperialist economic, political and military pressure to take away your oil and sovereignty,” Valbuena said.

“We look up to the unity, collective resilience and determination of the Venezuelan people as they face this natural calamity amidst the devastation caused by decades of US imperialist sanctions, plunder and aggression in Venezuela,” the NDFP International Office on its June 28 statement said.

A strong earthquake shook the north-central part of Venezuela, including the capital Caracas and the La Guaira region, on the afternoon of June 24. Two successive earthquakes with magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 reportedly struck within just 39 seconds. The shallow origin of the quake in the San Sebastián fault system collapsed many buildings and hospitals, and cut electricity and communication services of millions.

As of the latest report on June 30, 1,719 individuals have been confirmed dead, more than 5,000 were injured, and 46,600 remain missing and are being searched for in collapsed buildings. The earthquake rendered over 12,000 homeless, and directly affected an estimated 15,866 families.

At the same time, the CPP strongly condemned the US rapid move to exploit the tragedy by deploying troops inside Venezuela. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Kevin J. Jarrard landed in Caracas on the evening of June 25 to directly lead US military operations in the country. The US Southern Command also deployed the warships USS Fort Lauderdale and USS Billings to Venezuelan waters, along with large transport aircraft C-17 Globemaster and C-130 Hercules.

The US inserted its troops under the guise of “humanitarian relief.” These same troops attacked Caracas on January 3 and abducted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. Pentagon calls this Operation Southern Spear.

“The US use of disaster and ‘humanitarian reasons’ to deploy troops, ships, and aircraft inside Venezuela is despicable, especially after a long period of imposing harsh sanctions that damaged the country’s economy and development,” Valbuena said.

These sanctions, and other coercive US measures, have already compelled the Venezuelan government to accommodate Trump’s dictates.

“The objective of continued US intervention in Venezuela is to allow the unbridled access to the country’s vast oil reserves that continue to fund their free healthcare system, education and other basic social services including disaster response,” according to the NDFP International Office.

It called on all revolutionary movements, national liberation struggles, progressive forces, and anti-imperialist organizations worldwide to stand with the Venezuelan people at this critical time.