Caracas [Venezuela]: Venezuelan Opposition leader Juan Guaido on Friday (local time) announced that the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies will be delivering humanitarian aid to the crisis-stricken country next month.
Shortly after the announcement, Guaido took to Twitter saying, “The #Operation Freedom is a work of each of us every day. The confidence in ourselves made the #Humanitarian Assistance a fact today. Now let’s work with everything to return to live normally, in democracy and freedom.
#VamosBien because we’re going together!”
CNN quoted the Opposition leader, who dubbed the move as a defeat to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, while adding, “The dictator will want to disguise his defeat, but we continue firm in our route and will move forward until the end of the usurpation. That is the great task that befalls us all.”
Red Cross president Francesco Rocca said that the organisation will have the “legal and technical conditions” to start humanitarian aid deliveries to Venezuela within a month.
Rocca noted the goal of the Red Cross is to start delivering aid to 650,000 people within 20 days, and stressed that the delivery of aid will be a technical operation, not a political one.
“The Red Cross is open to accepting aid from various countries and donors as long as those donations meet the charity’s standards for impartiality and neutrality,” Rocca added.
In addition, when asked why it took the Red Cross so long to deliver aid, Rocca said that there have been various negotiations with “government institutions, and social, humanitarian and political organisations” in the country as the delivery had to be done through legal means.
Quoting sources, the Red Cross was granted permission to bring aid into Venezuela after personal meetings with Maduro and with Guaido.
Meanwhile, according to Xinhua news agency, the Venezuelan government received humanitarian aid from China on Friday (local time).
The South American nation has been reeling with a political as well as a humanitarian crisis since the beginning of this year when Guaido declared himself President on January 26.
However, Maduro shows no signs of losing the critical support of elites and the military.
Rampant inflation, along with food scarcity and blackouts have gripped Venezuela under Maduro, while thousands of localities fled to the neighbouring countries as shortages, political turmoil, and crime rates have soared.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]