Navy hospital ship Comfort treats Venezuelan migrants, Colombians
By The Associated Press
The hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) anchors off the coast of Colombia on Nov. 14, 2018, for an 11-week medical support mission to Central and South America as part of U.S. Southern Command’s Enduring Promise initiative. (MC1 Scott Bigley/Navy)
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.
U.S. military doctors line up as they leave the public school where they attended patients in Riohacha, Colombia, Monday, Nov. 26, 2018. The USNS Comfort is in Colombia as part of a mission to treat local residents and Venezuelas who require urgent medical attention. (Fernando Vergara/AP)
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.
Defense Secretary James Mattis said Monday that the U.S. military brings stability to most of Latin America through its operations run across the hemisphere by the Miami-based Southern Command.
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.
Elvis Trazadania, from Venezuela, receives free dental treatment at a public school hosting U.S. doctors from the USNS Comfort hospital ship in Riohacha, Colombia, Monday, Nov. 26, 2018. The USNS Comfort is in Colombia as part of a mission to treat local residents and Venezuelans who require urgent medical attention. (Fernando Vergara/AP)
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