US sending ‘spoiled food’ and ‘expired medicine’ as aid – Venezuelan ambassador
Venezuela’s ambassador to Russia discussed his government’s rejection of American ‘foreign aid’, pointing out that aside from coming with dangerous strings attached, the so called ‘aid’ is unfit for consumption.
“We don’t perceive what the United States and its satellites offer as humanitarian aid,” Ambassador Carlos Rafael Faria Tortosa explained in an interview with Russian media.
He added that International Committee of the Red Cross agreed with his position, referring to recent incidents of opposition figures using fake Red Cross credentials at the Colombian border.
“Since we refuse to accept these goods, the States want to force them into our territory”
Venezuela has closed several borders in order to enforce a ban on “aid” packages from the US, an order which he says Washington has all but ignored in order to “create a tense situation on the border” which it uses to justify intervention.
Aside from the broader political considerations, he said that Venezuela has also attempted to halt supplies from the US based on health and hygiene standards.
“The USA sends products that no one has tested. From our sources we know that their boxes have contained spoiled food, expired medicines and drugs, unsuitable for use. They have not been tested by a single one of the organizations that conduct these kind of checks around the world,” he noted.
Whereas Venezuela rejects aid from Washington, Tortas made it clear that it accepts humanitarian supplies from other countries Caracas feels can be trusted not to exploit the situation in order to push an anti-government agenda. Meanwhile, the essential supplies situation in Venezuela is not as desperate as it has been portrayed in Western media.
Asked if Venezuela was prepared to deal with an outright foreign invasion, Tortosa said that he still believes in a peaceful solution. He couldn’t say the same however, about US Vice President Mike Pence and US special envoy for Venezuela Elliot Abrams who visited US-allied Colombia on Monday.
Also on rt.com US issues fresh Venezuela-related sanctions after VP Pence affirms Washington’s support for Guaido“We remember what this man did in Central America in the 1980s. This is a man who thinks only of military solutions,” Tortosa explained.
On Tuesday, Russia’s Security Council announced that the US was preparing for an invasion after American special forces units began amassing in Puerto Rico and Colombia. The US has utilized recent clashes over aid at the border to justify its aggressive maneuvers.
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