US Officials To Join Military Flight Delivering Aid To Venezuela On Saturday - Statement

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th February, 2019) Officials from the State Department and US Agency for International Development (USAID) will be aboard a military aircraft that the United States is sending to the Venezuelan border on Saturday to deliver aid to the crisis-torn country, the department's Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino said.

"On February 16, the Department of State, USAID, and the Department of Defense, in a cooperative effort, will deliver aid ready for distribution within Venezuela to Cucuta, Colombia," Palladino said in a statement on Friday. "Department of State and USAID officials will join the flight of humanitarian assistance leaving Miami on February 16."

Palladino said the Department would be represented by Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Julie Chung.

In Cucuta, the US officials will be joined by their Colombian counterparts, as well as representatives of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido to welcome the arrival of the aid, Palladino said. He added that the supplies would "augment aid already pre-positioned " at Guaido's international humanitarian assistance center.

"This assistance will address the greatest needs for the most vulnerable populations in Venezuela," Palladino said.

The announcement comes on the heels of a visit by Colombian President Ivan Duque to the United States.

Washington and Bogota are determined to work together to resolve the ongoing political crisis in Venezuela and provide humanitarian aid to the Latin American country, US Presidents Donald Trump and Ivan Duque Marquez said in a joint statement. after a bilateral meeting at the White House on Thursday. At the meeting, the presidents promised to send a "tremendous" amount of humanitarian aid to Venezuela.

Earlier on Friday, Pentagon spokesperson Jamie Davis told Sputnik on Friday The US Defense Department would soon reveal details on new humanitarian assistance to Venezuela and US military logistic support for its delivery to the crisis.

He added the United States has pre-positioned humanitarian aid, which includes food, hygiene kits, and medical supplies, in Colombia last week and will coordinate with opposition leader Juan Guaido and regional governments on how to mobilize aid delivery.

The issue of humanitarian aid to Venezuela has become a matter of controversy in recent days amid concerns that foreign countries could use such deliveries as a cover to achieve political or military objectives.

On Tuesday, Guaido told his supporters that US humanitarian aid would be delivered on February 23. The Venezuelan government headed by President Nicolas Maduro so far has refused to accept aid that the United States has delivered to neighboring Colombia, blasting it as a ploy to topple his government.

On Monday, Christoph Harnisch, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Columbia, said his organization would not assist in delivering the goods to Venezuela because the ICRC does not consider the US assistance to be humanitarian aid. Earlier this month, the ICRC warned US officials against politicizing humanitarian assistance and delivering aid without the consent of local authorities.

UN spokesman Stephen Dujarric last week warned against politicizing humanitarian aid, saying any actions to assist the people of Venezuela must be independent of political, military or other objectives.

Tensions in Venezuela escalated on January 23, when Guaido declared himself interim president, disputing Maduro's re-election. Guaido was almost immediately recognized by the United States and its allies. Russia, China, Mexico, among other nations, voiced support for Maduro, who, in turn, accused Washington of orchestrating a coup.rn country.