The United States military airlifted tonnes of humanitarian aid to a Colombian town on the Venezuelan border as part of an effort meant to undermine socialist President Nicolas Maduro and back his rival for the leadership of the South American nation.
Three scheduled Air Force C-17 cargo planes that took off from Homestead Air Reserve Base in Florida had landed in Cucuta. That border city, swollen by a flood of migrants from Venezuela, is a collection point for aid that's supposed to be distributed by supporters of Juan Guaido, the congressional leader who is recognised by the US and many other nations as Venezuela's legitimate president. He has called for the aid.
"This wasn't the first, and it won't be the last," said USAID Administrator Mark Green, standing on the tarmac in Cucuta at a ceremony to receive the aid. "More is on the way."
Commercial planes had been used for earlier shipments of aid, which is aimed at dramatising the economic crisis — including hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicine — gripping Venezuela. Critics say last year's re-election was fraudulent, making Maduro's second term illegal.
"We are saving lives with these airplanes," said Lestor Toledo, an exiled politician who is coordinating the international aid effort for Guaido.
