What Is BHISHM Cube? India Launches Operation Amistad For Quake-Hit Venezuela

The Indian Army has sent a specialist medical contingent to Venezuela, under Operation Amistad, to support relief efforts following a devastating earthquake that struck the country's northern region. Amistad in Spanish means friendship.

The team, drawn from 60 Para Field Hospital, left Hindon Air Force Station on Thursday afternoon and is currently en route to Venezuela aboard two Indian Air Force aircraft. In all, 41 personnel are part of the contingent, including nine medical officers, equipped to deliver emergency medical care, trauma management, surgical support and other essential health services to those affected by the disaster.

Roughly six tonnes of medical stores and humanitarian supplies, provided by the Ministry of External Affairs, are travelling with the team. One of the two aircraft is also carrying a BHISHM Cube, short for Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog, Hita and Maitri, deployed under India's Aarogya Maitri Project.

"Operation Amistad underway! Two @IAF_MCC C17s took-off today for Venezuela with urgent assistance to support their post-earthquake relief efforts," S Jaishankar, external affairs minister, informed.

What BHISHM Cube

The BHISHM Cube is an indigenously developed, rapidly deployable medical unit built specifically for disaster response. Made up of compact, self-contained modules, it can be assembled into a fully operational field hospital capable of treating up to 200 patients at a time, offering advanced trauma care, emergency surgery and intensive care support.

It comes fitted with portable ventilators, patient monitors, diagnostic tools, surgical equipment, power generation and oxygen supply systems, giving India the means to respond swiftly and effectively to medical emergencies abroad.