CARACAS (Reuters) – A U.S.-backed effort to send aid to Venezuela in 2019 that ended in a violent standoff on the Colombian border was not planned in alignment with humanitarian principles, according to an audit by the Washington-based aid agency involved in the operation.
The U.S. Agency for International Development in sent aid material to the Colombian border region in February 2019 amid chronic shortages of food and medicine and rising malnutrition.
The supplies were to be carried across the border by allies of opposition leader Juan Guaido, but the aid convoys were blocked by troops loyal to President Nicolas Maduro – who called the operation a violation of the nation’s sovereignty.
“(The) directive to pre-position humanitarian commodities was not driven by technical expertise or fully aligned with the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Agency for International Development … principles of neutrality, independence, and being based on needs assessments,” the audit concluded.
The report, originally released on April 16, was first reported by the Associated Press.
Venezuela’s information ministry, USAID and the U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The border standoff took place weeks after the Trump administration recognized Guaido as Venezuela’s legitimate president and backed Guaido’s creation of an interim government that was meant to advance a political transition in Venezuela.
During the aid effort, USAID leaders instructed officials to align decisions “toward reinforcing the Interim Government’s credibility,” the report says.
It adds that USAID’s leadership directed officials to minimize funding to UN agencies, even though they had infrastructure in Venezuela to deliver such goods, because it believed they were sympathetic to Maduro’s government.
Of the 368 tonnes of supplies sent to the Colombia-Venezuela border region, only eight were delivered to Venezuela, with the remainder distributed in Colombia or shipped to Somalia, the report said.
Following the aid standoff, Maduro’s government began progressively allowing for a greater influx of foreign aid and an expanded presence of international humanitarian groups.
This month, the government signed an agreement with the World Food Programme that will benefit 185,000 children this year and some 1.5 million by the end of the 2022-2023 school year.
(Reporting by Brian Ellsworth, additional reporting by Simon Lewis in Washington; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
