A Venezuelan Navy vessel threatened to open fire on a vessel from Puerto Rico that was carrying humanitarian aid on February 23. The vessel had six US citizens on board. In light of the incident, Puerto Rican Governor Ricardo Rosselló noted that he informed the US government of the issue.
Specifically, the Vanuatu-flagged ship was transferring 200 tonnes of food and medicine into nine containers. However, when it voyaged into Venezuelan territorial waters was retreated to Curaçao.
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Venezuela has had many attacks in the past, as the US President imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s state-owned oil group PDVSA.
Maduro’s opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, is supported by the US Government. Also, he declared himself interim president after supporting that the nation’s 2018 election render Maduro’s leadership was illegitimate.
On the other hand, Maduro is backed by Russia, Cuba and China and announced that aid deliveries would pave the way for US military intervention.
In addition, US Senator Rick Scott of Florida noted, through twitter posts, that the US would not accept any threats against American citizens.
The tension reached a peak in Venezuela on February 23, as US convoys of aid were blocked at the Venezuelan border by troops loyal to Maduro. Yet, there are also reports of defections among the soldiers as well. Approximately, 300 people were injured in associated violence.
Due to the crisis, Venezuela closed its maritime border with Dutch Caribbean islands, because of the opposition’s plan to bring in humanitarian aid on February 23, in order to alleviate an economic crisis. The border is closed with the islands of Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire.