South Florida first responders who raced to Venezuela after deadly earthquakes return to Miami

First responders from South Florida who raced to Venezuela in the aftermath of the devastating and deadly earthquakes in Venezuela at the end of June have returned home after a weeklong deployment.

Members of Florida's Task Force 1 and Task Force 2 (FL-TF1 and FL-TF2) spent the week helping with the search-and-rescue operations, working alongside Venezuela's Urban Search and Rescue teams and other international partners.

The mission held a special significance in their hearts as South Florida hold one of the largest Venezuelan populations in the U.S., making this mission even more personal.

One of the task force members said he was searching through the rubble of the neighborhood where he grew up.

Cameras captured the emotional moment when FL-TF1 and FL-TF2 arrived at Miami International Airport with people in the terminal clapping and cheering for those who raced into the disaster zone to help the victims of the deadly back-to-back earthquakes.

Friends and family were there to welcome them all home, with many carrying signs and American flags.

And for many first responders, the mission was personal.

"It was very hard, because I grew up in that area, Caraballeda," FL-TF1 Captain German Leal said. "Which was the area that I grew up as a kid. We used to ride bikes with my cousins, go to McDonald's, listen to music, have hamburgers. So, being there and seeing all that area destroyed was very hard to absorb. You know, the builds were down and people were there. It was very difficult."

He added that while they were there to help the local Venezuelans, the locals couldn't have been nicer to the task force members.

They offered them whatever food and water they had left.