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VENEZUELA’S SELF-DECLARED interim leader Juan Guaido has announced plans to mobilise thousands of volunteers to help bring American aid into the country next week.
It comes as the country’s president Nicolas Maduro vowed to strengthen border security and block what he called a US invasion.
Guaido’s announcement came as tonnes of US food aid began piling up along the border with Colombia, the latest flashpoint in the country’s building political crisis.
Guaido, whose claim to be interim president now has the support of more than 50 countries, told his rally that 600,000 people had registered to help bring desperately needed aid in through different border points.
“Not only will this be happening at the border where the volunteer movement will be, but in cities up and down the country where there will be demonstrations on 23 February for the aid to come in,” the National Assembly leader told thousands of supporters.
In addition to the aid arriving in Colombia, Guaido said, more would be coming through Brazil and the Caribbean island of Curacao.
Several tonnes of US aid have already arrived in the Colombian border town of Cucuta.
The US Army plans to deliver an additional 200 tonnes in coming days, a Pentagon official said on Friday, speaking on grounds of anonymity.
Rotten food
Guaido repeated his call on Venezuela’s military – whose support for Maduro has been crucial in the growing crisis – to stand aside and let the aid pass.
“You have, in your hands, the possibility of fighting alongside the people who are suffering the same shortages you are,” Guaido said in a tweet addressed to soldiers.
But Maduro, who asserts that aid could be used as a cover for a US invasion, called for reinforced border security.
He dismissed the arriving aid as “crumbs” and “rotten and contaminated food”.
On Friday, he instructed his army to prepare a “special deployment plan” for the 2,200-kilometer border with Colombia.
He said he would examine “what new forces” might be needed to keep the frontier “inviolable”.
Maduro claimed that US President Donald Trump and Colombian counterpart Ivan Duque had worked out “war plans against Venezuela” when they met Wednesday in Washington.
Duque told Guaido on Friday that he would help ensure that humanitarian aid reaches Venezuela.
A grave economic crisis has left millions in the once-wealthy country living in poverty, facing shortages of basic necessities such as food and medicine.
Some 2.3 million Venezuelans have fled the country since 2015 as a result, according to the United Nations.
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Did Leo buy a publicly package from the Journal or something? Every other day there’s another article about him. You would think that FG have been in opposition for the past 10 years with all the false promises he’s coming out with.
@John Smith: The journal is plaumausing Leo like mad now. He must be loving it.
@mark daly: He and his PR team must be paying for it! Desperate way to try to regain lost ground in the polls. His name associated with a few good news articles doesnt make up for the mess this country is in after 11 years of FG. There’ll be no fanfare when hes Taoiseach again
Will he row back on this one too, like the 30% income tax rate ?
@Mark Sheridan: But of course he will & we’ve already been Told by another cowboy politician that , that’s what they do in order to win votes ( They make FALSE promises) bunch of ……..
Just another carrot thrown at the electorate.But the majority of the electorate have been copping on to sir leo for quite a while now and just won’t buy it.
How do the self employed get this? Their tax rates, which are higher than anyone elses, help pay for the leave for those on PAYE. Perhaps the self employed should be looked after first and foremost in all these giveaways.
@Laura McCarthy: They more likely l pay for the thousands of self employed who work in cash and can be very economical with the truth when it comes to filing accounts .
@Liz O’Neill: That’s the tradesmen you are talking about I presume?
What’s your take on Mr Troy?
@G Row.: Whatever line of work you’re in you should pay your fair share of taxes.
@Liz O’Neill: You could be self employed if you want, you could avail of all those savings.
Leo needs to stop making promises that he can’t possibly fulfil before he rotates into the Taoiseach role. Sick Pay is a massive change and no employer nor govt dept is anywhere near in a ready state for that. Bereavement Leave is more fairytale talk. Make a bereavement leave provision in employment legislation for x days for immediate family members only paid for by the employer, similar to holiday pay legislation. Most employers pay for it anyway. Making self-employed pay for it also through PRSI makes no sense.
Bereavement is not and should not be covered under force majeure leave. As per the article it is under compassionate leave, of which is STILL unlegislated for. Why should it come from the social insurance fund? Would it not be better legislated like the new sick policy scheme?
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