Venezuela has confirmed the closure of its border with the Dutch Caribbean islands of Curacao, Aruba and Bonaire. Aviation and maritime transport will be stopped immediately, said Venezuelan Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez yesterday. Already on Tuesday media had reported on the closure, but the government had not commented.
Self-proclaimed interim President Juan Guaido wants to bring in the humanitarian relief supplies at the border during the weekend. His opponent, Nicolas Maduro, rejects this because he sees humanitarian aid as an excuse for military intervention in Venezuela.
Curacao is to become a logistics hub for relief supplies. Numerous relief items are already waiting on the border between Colombia and Venezuela. Also in Brazil, collection points for food, medicines and hygiene articles are to be set up.
Guaido’s ambassador takes over administrative headquarters
Meanwhile, the ambassador for Costa Rica appointed by Guaido has taken over the building of the diplomatic mission in San Jose. That’s what Maria Faria wrote on Twitter. Costa Rica, as part of the Lima group, had recognized Guaido as Venezuelan interim president.
The Costa Rican government called the embassy unacceptable and announced a diplomatic note to Faria. Faria’s behavior violated diplomatic norms of respect and trust in the international community, said Costa Rican Deputy Foreign Minister Lorena Aguilar.
Faria had not complied with the 60-day deadline given to the diplomatic staff deployed by Maduro to leave the country, Aguilar said. However, Costa Rica can not intervene because the embassy building is subject to Venezuelan jurisdiction.
