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Opposition says 900 tonnes of humanitarian aid were delivered to Venezuela

The Venezuelan opposition's coordinator for international humanitarian aid Lester Toledo said that humanitarian aid was distributed among 800,000 people

RIO DE JANEIRO, July 23. /TASS/. A total of 900 tonnes of humanitarian cargoes was delivered to Venezuela and distributed across the country, representative of opposition leader Juan Guaido and coordinator for international humanitarian aid Lester Toledo said on Monday.

"Almost 30 containers [with humanitarian aid] were distributed in different regions of the country. They mostly included food and medicines," Toledo said in a statement broadcast on Twitter. However, he added that this amount is not sufficient to meet the needs of the population. "Nine-hundred tonnes were distributed among 800,000 people, while around 30 million people continue to suffer," he noted.

Overcoming the humanitarian crisis in the country and full-scale delivery of humanitarian aid is impossible without full control over the customs infrastructure, Toledo said. The main checkpoint for collecting humanitarian aid is in the US city of Miami, he added.

On January 23 Venezuelan National Assembly Speaker Juan Guaido proclaimed himself as the country's acting president. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has described it as a coup attempt and announced severing diplomatic relations with the United States. On January 28 the US imposed sancitons on Venezuela's state-owned PDVSA oil company.

Guaido was recognized as interim president by the Lima Group countries (except for Mexico), as well as by Albania, Georgia, the United States, and the Organization of American States. Several EU countries came forward with support for the Venezuelan parliament and expressed hope for new elections to resolve the crisis. Maduro was supported by Russia, Belarus, Bolivia, Iran, China, Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salavador, Syria and Turkey.