Commissioner Diaz delivers relief to Guatemala volcano victims

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY – After several days of collecting donations for victims of the recent volcanic eruption in Guatemala, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz will be joined by Federico Cruz of Guatemala’s Association of Volunteer Firefighters as 18 pallets of collected goods are loaded onto trucks to be transported to the airport and delivered to Guatemala.

The press conference/media photo op will take place on TODAY, Thursday, June 14 at 3 p.m. at DEKA Trading Corp., located at 6819 NW 84th Avenue in Doral. The donations include masks, canned food, juices, antibiotics, disinfectants, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, infant and adult diapers, medications for respiratory infections, laundry detergent, feminine hygiene products, brushes, toothpaste, first aid kits and painkillers. The pallets also include boots, helmets and jackets from the Miami-Dade Fire Department, its union and the Miami Beach Fire Department destined for Guatemala’s fire department to help them deal with the disaster. The goods will be flown to La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala.

“I want to thank all my District 12 mayors, the Miami-Dade and Miami Beach firefighters and all the residents and businesses who contributed to this effort,” Commissioner Diaz said. “I also want to thank Carlos Alejandro Mencos from DEKA Trading Corp. for warehousing the goods and Walmart for donating some of the goods and showing they care about our friends in Guatemala.”

After the volcanic eruption, Commissioner Diaz teamed up with mayors of municipalities located District 12 to set up several drop-off locations for donations for Guatemala volcano victims.