American Officials: More Aid to be Sent to the Venezuela Border

The head of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) states that the country will continue to send humanitarian aid in response to the request of Venezuela's 'interim president' Juan Guaido. Trump's national security advisor has also urged other countries to take similar actions. Mark Green, the administrator of USAID, tweeted that 'the United States continues to respond to the request of Juan Guaido, the interim president of Venezuela, for humanitarian aid.' He added that 'aid has been sent to Colombia and is positioned near the Venezuela border, with more on the way.' Juan Guaido, the opposition leader in Venezuela, is the head of the country's parliament and has sworn in as the interim president among opposition groups. The U.S., many European countries, and several countries in the Americas have supported Guaido. Opponents of Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan president whose legitimacy is challenged, are calling for presidential elections with international observers. They claim that last year's elections, in which Maduro won, were conducted without competitive laws and principles, preventing the participation of main rivals, and the result is 'illegal.' However, Maduro has rejected these accusations, describing calls for elections as interference in his country's affairs. In the meantime, Guaido has called for humanitarian aid to be sent to his country's crisis-stricken citizens. Maduro, however, has described the aid as 'a pretext for military intervention' in his country and has blocked its entry. The Venezuelan army has prevented the transfer of foreign humanitarian aid. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted on February 17 that 'humanitarian aid must be allowed' to reach the people of Venezuela. John Bolton, the national security advisor to the U.S. president, also expressed gratitude to the Colombian government for hosting the aid, stating, 'It is time for the world to show similar support and generosity.' Republican Senator Marco Rubio has also visited the Venezuela border and warned that Venezuelan army forces preventing aid delivery could 'commit crimes against humanity.' The first shipment of foreign aid for Venezuela was sent in mid-February. Last Saturday, a U.S. military aircraft carrying humanitarian aid landed near the Venezuela border in Colombia. However, the issue remains how to transfer this aid into the country, as the Venezuelan army has blocked the border. Guaido is expected to provide details on the aid import on Monday. The opposition leader has called for the formation of a 'one million strong volunteer force' to move toward the border to receive the aid.