MIAMI _ A shipment of humanitarian aid sent by the United States left Miami for Cucuta, Colombia, Saturday as part of efforts to help in the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela.
The United States Agency for International Development and the State Department coordinated the shipment, which was flown on three military planes. The planes were to be met in the Colombian border city later Saturday by USAID Administrator Mark Green and representatives of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, the president of the National Assembly who is now recognized as interim president by the U.S. and nearly 60 other countries.
The delivery of international humanitarian aid to Venezuelans has become a test of power for Guaido. At an international conference held in Washington Friday, his representatives announced the commitment of several countries to raise $100 million. The United States has allocated close to $140 million to support countries such as Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Panama, which have given refuge to more than 3 million Venezuelans who have fled the country in search of food, medicine and work.
One day after Guaido declared himself interim president on Jan. 23, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced an additional $20 million for humanitarian aid and there will be more, Elliot Abrams, the special envoy for Venezuela at the State Department, said in Washington.
The shipment includes high energy nutritional food to treat an estimated 3,500 malnourished children for two months. It also contains hygiene kits with toothpaste, sanitary towels, soap and other personal hygiene products. Aid already in Cucuta includes medical emergency kits in addition to food and hygiene products.
Lester Toledo, appointed by Guaido to oversee the distribution of humanitarian aid, said help will reach Venezuela from aid collection points set up in three countries: Brazil, Colombia and Curacao. The aid will arrive from that Caribbean island to the state of Falcon, in northwestern Venezuela.
Toledo said he was moved by the "tsunami of humanitarian aid" that the international community and the United States have organized.
According to USAID, the money allocated to support countries that have taken in Venezuelan refugees has been used to help pay for soup kitchens, the vaccination of 300 Venezuelans every day, medical treatment, food and other initiatives. The humanitarian aid that the U.S. is storing in Colombia includes fortified foods, first aid kits and personal hygiene items.
Nicolas Maduro, who also considers himself president of Venezuela, has blocked the entry of humanitarian aid, claiming that it is an excuse by the United States to launch a military intervention. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has said that the U.S. aid accumulating in Cucuta and other collection centers is "contaminated and poisoned, it's carcinogenic."
To show that Venezuela did not need medicines, despite the severe shortage in the country, Health Minister Carlos Alvarado announced the arrival Wednesday of more than 900 tons of medical products, mainly from China and Cuba. But Guaido and the opposition have promised that aid will enter the country next Saturday, although exactly how it remains a question.
