“There is a group of 50 people, possibly 53, being prepared since early this morning,” Rangel told CNN Portugal.

The force includes mainly gendarmerie rescue units, civil protection teams, police officers with rescue dogs, as well as medical staff, including two doctors and two nurses, he clarified.

The deployment of the team will depend on logistical preparation and coordination with the Venezuelan authorities.

At present, Portuguese authorities do not know whether there are any Portuguese casualties in Venezuela.

However, five Portuguese citizens, including four members of the same family, are reported missing in the La Guaira area, north of Caracas, the Foreign Ministry told local media.

Earlier today, the President, José Seguro, and Prime Minister Luís Montenegro expressed messages of support and “full solidarity” with the Venezuelan people, as well as Portuguese citizens and descendants of Lusitanians.

Transmiti à Presidente @delcyrodriguezv, com quem acabei de falar ao telefone, plena solidariedade dos portugueses para com o povo e o Governo da Venezuela, perante esta tragédia. Transmiti também sentidas condolências pelas vidas perdidas.

Portugal está disponível para ajudar a…

— Luís Montenegro (@LMontenegro_PT) June 25, 2026

A large Portuguese community lives in Venezuela, numbering around 200,000 people according to the Foreign Ministry in Lisbon, making it the second-largest Portuguese community in Latin America.

These migrants, mainly originating from Madeira and the Aveiro region in central Portugal, settled in Venezuela in waves between the 1940s and the 1980s.