Guaido says 1st truckload of Brazilian aid has entered Venezuela
Caracas — The speaker of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Juan Guaido, who a month ago proclaimed himself interim president of the country, said this Saturday that the first truckload of humanitarian aid from Brazil has entered Venezuelan territory, despite the Nicolas Maduro government’s order to close the border.
“We officially announce that the first load of humanitarian aid HAS NOW ENTERED across our border from Brazil,†tweeted Guaido, who went Saturday to the aid storehouse at Tienditas Bridge, which connects the Colombian city of Cucuta with the Venezuelan town of Ureña.
A second shipment from Brazil is also expected to reach the border this Saturday, after experiencing some technical problems on its 220-kilometer (137-mile) route between the city of Boa Vista, capital of the northern Brazilian state of Roraima, and Pacaraima on the Venezuelan border.
Hundreds of Venezuelans accompanied the arrival of the first truckload of humanitarian aid from Brazil, crying out against Maduro and demanding that the Venezuelan military permit access, EFE observed.
The head of the legislative commission for humanitarian aid to Venezuela, opposition lawmaker Miguel Pizarro, first announced its entry.
“Our Ambassador (to Brazil) Teresa Belandria and all our (indigenous) Pemon people have announced that the first shipment of humanitarian aid has now entered Venezuelan territory,†Pizarro said
The arrival of this first shipment becomes a kind of political message, since some 200 tons of food and medicines still remain stored in Boa Vista that Brazil has gathered in cooperation with the United States.
One condition of the Brazilian government for transporting humanitarian aid from Boa Vista to the Caribbean nation is that it be done with “Venezuelan trucks driven by Venezuelans.â€
Up to now, only two trucks have been made available for the job, with license plates A05AI5N and A64AI5N, both from the Venezuelan state of Monagas, EFE observed.
Taking part in the shipment from Boa Vista to Pacaraima were Brazilian Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo and personnel from the United States Embassy.
However, Venezuelan lawmaker Americo De Grazia said that after the “triumphant†crossing of the first truck into Venezuelan territory, the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) “repressed with tear gas†the people of Bolivar state, on the border with Brazil.
Meanwhile, according to the opposition, in the coming hours a ship from the islands of the Caribbean Netherlands carrying tons of humanitarian aid will dock on the Venezuelan coast.
The humanitarian aid was sought by Guaido, who proclaimed himself interim president because he considered Maduro a “usurper†who won a second term thanks to a rigged election.
Guaido has been accepted as interim president by 50 nations including the United States and Brazil.
Araujo said this Saturday in a statement to EFE that Maduro “has no real power...nor has he any moral power, the only power he has is brute force.â€
At the same time, he said that “Venezuela is going through a moment of irreversible change†and asked “the Venezuelan military†to back Guaido.
“Maduro’s downfall is a matter of time,†he said.
