© Reuters / Ivan Alvarado
The US and Colombia turned the beleaguered Colombian border town of Cucuta into a "regular stage for their most decadent and cheap spectacles," Arreaza tweeted on Sunday in response to Pompeo's visit in the area.
The consequences of the criminal blockade imposed by his [Pompeo] government on Venezuela are too grave to count. It has created death, suffering and need.Earlier, Venezuelan migrants living in camps on the Colombian side of the border rioted over food rations and clashed with local police. Towns on the Venezuelan side also saw clashes between law enforcement and protesters.
The unrest was exacerbated by the opposition's attempts to drive trucks filled with US-sponsored aid into Venezuela. The authorities refused to let them pass, denouncing the move as a "PR stunt," and citing suspicions that Washington might use the trucks to smuggle in weapons.
As tensions mounted, US officials and some in the Western media accused the Venezuelan government of setting one of the trucks on fire during a dramatic confrontation at a border bridge with Colombia, but footage from the scene and additional reporting revealed that the truck was in fact set on fire by opposition activists.
Nevertheless, during his stay in Cucuta, Mike Pompeo met with a group of Venezuelan migrants and once again urged Caracas to accept the US-sent "humanitarian aid."
Comment: If the U.S. were really concerned about the humanitarian aspect of aid, it would simply use accepted channels like the Red Cross. Instead, it offers 'aid' which it knows the Venezuelan government will reject in order to get headlines that make the Venezuelans look bad. The U.S. actually prefers that their aid get rejected, in order to reinforce their image of the Venezuelan government as a mad dictatorship. And at the same time, they sanction Venezuelan leaders and major companies, which only makes the situation worse. Does that sound humanitarian to you? See also: