Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has spectacularly claimed that the international aid flooding into the crisis-hit South American country is “carcinogenic” and accused the US of sending “biological weapons pretending to be humanitarian help”.
Venezuelan politician Juan Guaido, 35, of the centrist social-democratic Popular Will party, called for international humanitarian aid to help with food and medicine shortages in the beleaguered country.
Guaido, who declared himself the country’s interim president following accusations that current leader Nicolas Maduro rigged last year’s election, has the backing of the US and many western nations.
However, powerful countries such as Russia, China and Turkey continue to back Maduro and criticise what they consider foreign meddling in the oil-rich country’s domestic affairs.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan vice president Rodriguez, 49, claimed on the state-run network TV VTV: “The aid that arrives here is contaminated and poisoned, it is carcinogenic, according to several scientific studies”:
The arrival of the food and medicines arriving into Venezuela from different countries is reportedly being coordinated by Guaido.
Rodriguez claimed that the United States is using the aid to introduce “chemicals” and “poison” Venezuelans.
She added: “We should raise the alarm. We could say that they are biological weapons pretending to be humanitarian help, just just like how they (US) introduced weapons in Nicaragua for the Contras that was supposed to be aid.”
Rodriguez also described the situation as a “cheap show” and an “insult” and accused the opposition party and critical governments in the region of following America’s lead.
To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below.
Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
