The U.S. is providing an additional $120 million in humanitarian aid to provide emergency food and health assistance for Venezuelans fleeing the corrupt regime of Nicolás Maduro, as well as for the host communities supporting them.
Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan, U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Mark Green and presidential adviser Ivanka Trump announced the humanitarian aid package September 4 in Cúcuta, Colombia, one of the stops on their three-nation tour of South America.
The new funding brings the U.S. contribution to the Venezuelan crisis response to more than $376 million — including nearly $334 million in humanitarian aid and $43 million in economic and development assistance.
Venezuela’s political and economic crisis — widely considered one of the world’s deepest economic declines outside of war or natural disaster — has left ordinary Venezuelans “facing a depth of suffering not seen before in this once-prosperous country,” USAID said in a news release announcing the new aid.
The U.S. is among the 55 countries that recognize interim President Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s rightful leader.
Sullivan, Green and Trump met with Guaidó’s aides during their stop in Colombia. The three also visited a migrant shelter in Cúcuta that houses many displaced Venezuelans.
“We stand with the people of Venezuela in their struggle to restore democracy, freedom, and rule of law,” Ivanka Trump said via Twitter.
The United States salutes Colombia and its neighbors for their continued support of Venezuelans, “and we call upon other donors to make or increase contributions to help address the crisis,” USAID said in the news release.
