Mexico also sent its Tlatelolco International Rescue Brigade - nicknamed Los Topos, or "the Moles" - known for their expert volunteer rescue and recovery work at disasters around the world such as the 1986 earthquake in El Salvador, the 9/11 terror attack on the Twin Towers in New York in 2001, and the December 2006 tsunami in Indonesia.
The Brigade emerged after the Sept. 19, 1985 quake that devastated Mexico City and claimed around 10,000 lives.
"We're preparing our trip, seeing how to get to Haiti via the Dominican Republic (which occupies the eastern half of the island of Hispaniola; Haiti is in the west)," Omar Flores, one of the 15 volunteer Brigade members heading to the earthquake-stricken country, told IPS.
They will be joined by rescue workers from the United States, Bolivia and Peru.
In addition, Mexico's Deputy Foreign Minister Salvador Beltrán announced that "a group of experts and consultants, along with medical specialists in injuries caused by collapsed buildings, search and rescue experts, damage assessment experts and experts in emergency administration" would be sent to Haiti.
LATIN AMERICA: From Peacekeeping to Humanitarian Relief in Haiti - IPS ipsnews.net
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