The scene at Hospital Universitario de Caracas is one of controlled chaos. A British medical team, flown in overnight, is now triaging patients in the car park. Tents have been erected.
The smell of antiseptic hangs heavy in the humid air. Inside, the wards are full. Panic attacks are common.
Fractures from clashes with security forces are being set in corridors. A consultant from the NHS tells me this is worse than anything he saw in Aleppo. The political calculation in Downing Street is blunt.
Venezuela is a humanitarian disaster. The optics of British doctors in scrubs are good. But the real game is about influence.
The Americans are watching. The Russians are watching. And the Venezuelan regime knows that every British doctor on the ground is a pair of eyes.
The team is here for six weeks. It might be longer. It usually is.
