Navy hospital ship Comfort treats Venezuelan migrants, Colombians

RIOHACHA, Colombia — Venezuelan migrants in need of urgent medical care are receiving surgeries aboard a U.S. Navy ship docked off Colombia’s coast.

Dozens on the hospital ship Comfort on Tuesday were getting treatment for conditions including cataracts and hernias.

The hospital ship is docked off Riohacha near Colombia’s border with Venezuela as part of an 11-week mission to three South American nations.

A 3-year-old boy with an inguinal hernia is among those first expected to get an operation.

Millions of Venezuelans have fled their country as it becomes more difficult to obtain everything from antibiotics to chemotherapy.

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Colombia has treated thousands of Venezuelans in its emergency rooms but many migrants still find it difficult to get adequate care.

The Comfort is also treating Colombian patients.

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