Washington DC - US Marines are working to repair the Venezuelan port of La Guaira, a senior administration official said Monday, as Washington boosted its financial commitment for the earthquake-hit country to $300 million.

A "specialized team of Marines" is "working around the clock to repair that port and allow the delivery of critical supplies by sea," the US official told journalists on condition of anonymity, adding that the USS Fort Lauderdale – an amphibious transport dock warship – had also docked there.

La Guaira, on Venezuela's northern coast, is one of the country's two main ports.

Earlier on Monday, the US State Department announced that Washington has now pledged more than $300 million in funding to aid Venezuela, up from a previous commitment of $150 million.

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"These funds will provide emergency medical care, food assistance, water and sanitation, shelter, protection, and logistics," the department said in a statement.

The money is being directed through partner organizations including Samaritan's Purse, Catholic Relief Services, the International Organization for Migration, the World Food Program and the Red Cross, the statement said.

Washington has also deployed four urban search-and-rescue teams to Venezuela that are made up of more than 300 first responders and almost two dozen search dogs, it added.

Devastating back-to-back 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes struck near Venezuela's Caribbean coast last week, collapsing buildings, damaging the country's main airport and leaving at least 1,450 people dead.

The US assistance for Venezuela comes as ties between Washington and Caracas have warmed in recent months after American forces captured former president Nicolas Maduro in January and the Trump administration began working with an interim government led by Delcy Rodriguez.