Caracas, Venezuela, Feb 23, 2019 / 16:50 pm
The Venezuelan Bishops' Conference is calling on Nicolas Maduro's government to allow humanitarian aid to enter the country and be peacefully distributed to people who are desperately in need of it.
The bishops of the country urged Nicolas Maduro to listen to the "cry of the people," stressing that the humanitarian aid is responding to a "grave crisis," and not politically motivated.
Maduro was sworn in for a second term Jan. 10, after winning a contested election in which opposition candidates were barred from running or imprisoned. Amidst the protests that followed, the head of the nation's parliament, Juan Guaidò, declared himself interim president on Jan. 23, pledging a transitional government and free elections. The United States and more than a dozen other European and South American nations no longer recognize Maduro as Venezuela's president.
Food and medical aid are currently being warehoused in Cúcuta, Colombia and Roraima, Brazil. While the supplies have been offered to Venezuela, Maduro has not allowed it to enter the country, claiming that there is no humanitarian crisis.