Venezuela’s government said on Wednesday that it was closing its border to air and sea traffic from three Caribbean islands in an effort to block aid shipments to the country organized by the Venezuelan opposition.
The head of Venezuela's ruling regime, Nicolás Maduro, asked the head of the National Assembly (AN), Juan Guaidó, recognized as interim president of the same nation by some 50 countries, to call presidential elections on Tuesday. Maduro's challenge is given because he believes he would defeat him and this would put an end to the dispute over the executive power that has marked an institutional crisis unprecedented in the Caribbean country.
President Donald Trump said on Monday that a new day is coming in Latin America, as he sought to rally support among the largest Venezuelan community in the U.S. for opposition leader Juan Guaidó. Speaking at Florida International University in Miami before large American and Venezuelan flags, Trump said the U.S. stands behind Guaido, whom the U.S. recognizes as the country's rightful president, and condemns President Nicolas Maduro's government and its socialist policies.
A C-17 cargo plane of the United States Air Force took off Saturday from the Homestead Air Force Base, in Florida, with the Venezuelan-Colombian border as the destination. The aircraft is one of three that will transport 250 tons of food, hygiene kits and nutritional supplements, a congressional aide to the US Congress told the Associated Press (AP).
The government of the United Kingdom announced on Tuesday that it will grant 6.5 million pounds, approximately 8.4 million dollars, to finance the different humanitarian agencies that are in the region assisting Venezuelan citizens inside and outside their country.
Presidents from Uruguay and Argentina, Tabare Vazquez and Mauricio Macri, will be meeting on Wednesday to discuss an open agenda, but which according to Buenos Aires sources will be centered on the Venezuelan situation, where the two countries hold different positions. The meeting is scheduled to take place in Colonia, at the Anchorena Park, which is an official resting place of the Uruguayan Executive, and a twenty minutes helicopter flight distance from Buenos Aires.
Venezuelan opposition envoy Maria Teresa Belandria was received as her country’s official ambassador in Brazil on Monday and said Brazil’s government would provide all possible support to get humanitarian aid to the border.
Venezuela’s opposition leader, Juan Guaido, said on Monday his team had delivered a first cargo of the humanitarian aid that has become a flashpoint in his tussle with President Nicolas Maduro, without specifying how it had received it.
Opposition leader Juan Guaido, recognized by some 50 countries as Venezuela's interim president, warned the military on Sunday that blocking humanitarian aid from entering the country is a crime against humanity.
Trucks carrying humanitarian aid for crisis-stricken Venezuela arrived in the Colombian border city of Cucuta on Thursday as diplomatically-isolated President Nicolas Maduro appeared set to block its entry amid an escalating political crisis.