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US military transport aircraft carrying humanitarian aid to Venezuelans landed in the border town of Cucuta, Colombia.
Food and medicines are stored there, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro refusing to allow aid to enter the country.
Saturday's 180-tonne cargo includes high-energy food products and hygiene kits containing soap, toothpaste and other products for more than 25,000 people.
Socialist President Maduro says aid shipments are part of a plot by the United States and their allies to undermine the government and opposition leader, Juan Guaido, who is He was declared Interim President last month.
Speaking to a crowd of supporters in eastern Caracas on Saturday, Guaido promised to train militant caravans to reach the border and bring aid to the country on February 23.
He also called on people to gather in the country's cities to receive help, while calling on the armed forces to allow his entry.
Venezuela is in the grip of an economic crisis, marked by hyperinflation and a shortage of food and medicine.
"This is not the first and it will not be the last one," said USAID Administrator Mark Green, on the Cucuta tarmac during a ceremony intended to receive help. "More is on the way."
"We are saving lives with these planes," said Lestor Toledo, an exiled politician who coordinates international efforts to help Guaido.
Maduro resorted to the army, which remains loyal, to prevent it from returning to Venezuela, calling it "crumbs" of an American government whose restrictions have deprived its administration of everything. control over his most valuable possessions.
Maduro's reviews his reelection last year was fraudulent, making the president's second term illegitimate.
"They hang us, steal our money, then say" here, grab those crumbs "and make it a global issue," Maduro told the Associated Press news agency. "With dignity, we say" No to the world show ", anyone who wants to help Venezuela is welcome, but we have enough capacity to pay for everything we need."
His vice president claimed, without proof, that the aid packages were contaminated. On Saturday, Green called the allegations "nonsense".
Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said Saturday that the United States had used a military plane to send aid to the Venezuelan border in Colombia because of the urgency of the situation. humanitarian needs.
"It's a message to Venezuela that we are meeting their humanitarian needs," Shanahan told reporters.
Many neighbors from Venezuela and many Western countries have recognized Guaido as the legitimate state leader, while Maduro retained support from Russia and China and control of Venezuelan state institutions.
The United States placed the US badets in Venezuela, including the Citgo oil company, under the control of Guaido and banned the financial transactions of entities controlled by Maduro.
Dozens of Venezuelan officials also face personal financial penalties in the United States.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
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