US President Donald Trump has criticized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for not letting US aid go to the crisis-ridden country. Maduro made a „terrible mistake,“ Trump told the White House yesterday at a meeting with Colombian President Ivan Duque Marquez. Such „bad things“ happened when the „wrong“ government was in power.
Duque Marquez said that one must send a „clear message“ to Maduro that the blockade of relief supplies is a crime against humanity. For over a week now, there have been trucks, medicines and toiletries on the border between Colombia and Venezuela. The Venezuelan military does not let them pass at the behest of Maduro. He considers it an excuse for military intervention in Venezuela.
Trump does not rule out military operation
Trump did not rule out a military option again. Look at all the options, but he does not talk about them, he said. To what extent his government actually drives a mission is unclear. The Colombian president had left open before his visit to Washington whether he would let US military operate in his country against Venezuela.
Curacao is to become a hub
The Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao is to become a logistics hub for humanitarian relief supplies for Venezuela. This was announced by Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok in The Hague. This decision was made in close consultation with the Government of Curacao.
Self-proclaimed interim president Venezuelan Juan Guaido and the US asked for it. Mexico’s president suggested distributing the relief supplies in Venezuela from the UN. This is how to avoid a political coloring.
US imports significantly less oil
US oil imports from Venezuela fell sharply last week. Thus, in the week to February 8, 117,000 barrels of crude oil per day introduced by the United States, two weeks earlier, it was still 587,000 barrels per day had been, as the US Energy Agency (EIA) announced. The decline is mainly due to the sanctions imposed by Washington on President Maduro’s government at the end of January.
