Pentagon to begin flying aid to assist Venezuelan migrants

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. military will begin delivering relief supplies to the Colombian border near Venezuela, U.S. officials said Friday, as the Trump administration increases its efforts to assist the opposition.

The relief includes food, hygiene kits and medical supplies, said a Pentagon spokesman, Army Lt. Col. Jamie Davis.

The State Department said it will work with the Defense Department and USAID to deliver the aid to the border city of Cucuta, Colombia, “for distribution within Venezuela.” A flight will department from Miami on Saturday.

“This humanitarian mission underscores the United States’ firm commitment and readiness to respond to the man-made political, economic, and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela,” the State Department said in a statement. “This humanitarian assistance must be allowed to enter Venezuela to reach people in need.”

A U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said the mission does not indicate that additional American troops will be deploying to Colombia. More than 200 tons of supplies are expected to be delivered.

The United States has continued to press Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to step down amid an economic and political crisis in which the National Assembly declared his 2018 re-election invalid in January and declared the assembly’s president, Juan Guaidó, interim president.

Col. Davis said the assistance is part of an effort by the U.S. government “to respond to the humanitarian impacts of this political and economic crisis.” The aid was requested by Mr. Guaidó, he said.

USAID said in a tweet Friday that the hygiene kits include toilet paper, feminine products, soap, razors, toothpaste, laundry detergent and other items that have become scarce and prohibitively expensive in Venezuela.

Venezuelans are bracing for a showdown over foreign aid on Feb. 23, when the opposition will seek to bring in millions of dollars worth of supplies donated by the United States and other countries from staging areas in Colombia, Curacao and Brazil. Mr. Maduro, however, has called the mission a Trojan horse invasion by the United States and ordered the military to prevent any aid from getting in.