Interim president Juan Guaido spoke at an event in Caracas this afternoon where he confirmed more details about the highly anticipated arrival of humanitarian aid this coming Saturday February 23.
Namely, Guaido confirmed that Cucuta would not be the only point of entry for the aid, which is being collected in several points outside of Venezuela. Guaido said:
On February 23, we will of course have humanitarian and volunteer brigades–of which there are many–moving to points on the border. Take note about these points: it’s not only Cucuta. It’s not only Tachira, Bolivar [states]… humanitarian aid will also come by sea, so pay attention to the mobilizations in Puerto Cabello [and] La Guaira, as well as throughout the country.
Guaido’s comments came at the same time that he confirmed the departure of a ship carrying 250 tonnes of aid from Puerto Rico:
Today a ship left Puerto Rico carrying 250 tonnes of humanitarian aid for our country.
These are containers full of hope and opportunities for many Venezuelans, and also full of freedom.
The humanitarian aid will enter Venezuela!
In the video below, a group of Venezuelan people sing the national anthem while the ship sets off:
Guaido made the comments during an event organized by transport sector workers to show their support for the National Assembly’s efforts.
Hugo Ocando, the head of a driver’s organization in eastern Caracas, told El Universal that the event was originally scheduled to take place in front of the Ministry of Transportation building on the Francisco de Miranda avenue. However, when demonstrators began showing up there this morning, they were denied access to the area by the authorities because the PSUV was staging an event there as well.
32 Artists Sign Up for Venezuela Aid Live Concert
A total of thirty two artists have already signed up to perform at Venezuela Aid Live, the fundraising concert sponsored by Richard Branson scheduled to take place in Cucuta this Friday February 22.
The goal of the concert is to raise money for the international humanitarian effort for Venezuela. Organizers expect that as many as 300,000 people will attend the event, and that they hope to raise at least $100 million.
Among the confirmed artists are Latin American powerhouses like Juan Luis Guerra, Alejandro Sanz, Nacho, and Fonseca.
Below, images of the stage for Friday’s event:
Interim Diplomatic Staff Storm Venezuelan Embassy in Costa Rica
A group of diplomats belonging to Juan Guaido’s interim government took over the Venezuelan embassy in San Jose de Costa Rica earlier this afternoon, in a move that Costa Rican authorities called “unacceptable”.
The embassy was, until earlier today, occupied by staff loyal to Maduro.
The mission to take over the embassy apparently headed by Maria Faria, who is the ambassador to Costa Rica for the Guaido interim government. Faria posted an image of herself alongside her staff with a Venezuelan flag, presumably inside the embassy, earlier today:
#Now In accordance with the diplomatic functions [assigned to me by president Juan Guaido] and recognized by the government of Costa Rica, we are taking control of the administrative offices of the Venezuelan embassy in San Jose. We will be giving important information soon #20Feb
On February 15, the government of Costa Rica gave Maduro’s diplomatic staff 60 days to leave the country, after which time they will presumably be replaced by Guaido’s team.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Costa Rica considers today’s events a violation of that 60-day grace period:
In this sense, [the Costa Rican government] expresses its energetic rejection at the action of the diplomatic representative Maria Faria, who has disrespected the 60 day diplomatic term extended by Costa Rica to the officials from the government of Mr. Nicolas Maduro to leave the country.
A small group of Venezuelans gathered outside of the embassy and engaged in a heated discussion, as some supported Guaido while others supported Maduro:
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