The US naval ship called the Comfort came to Peru as part of an 11-week mission throughout South and Central America. Nearly a thousand medical personnel arrived in Paita in northwestern Peru to conduct standard procedures, according to the UPI news agency.
The Navy ship left this week after conducting screenings for potential surgeries. The trips coordinated by the US Southern Command are designed to provide medical and relief missions to areas in need in partner countries throughout Latin America.
“We have an incredibly robust team with a wide-ranging portfolio of medical service offerings,” said Captain Kevin Buckley, commanding officer of Medical Treatment Facility aboard Comfort, in a press release. “While Comfort is here in Paita this week, medical units will provide preventative medicine treatments, optometry, dermatology, women’s health, adult medicine, pediatrics, and dental and surgical screenings to thousands of patients.”
Other stops have included Honduras, Ecuador and Colombia.
The Comfort was in Colombia to help with the Venezuelan migrant crisis, as Colombia is receiving an average of 5,000 Venezuelan refugees each day.
“It is absolutely a humanitarian mission,” U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said of the Colombian trip, according to an Associated Press report.
“We are going to go where the need is greatest,” Mattis added.
