Red Cross set to begin crucial aid distribution in Venezuela

The Red Cross said it would begin impartially distributing aid in Venezuela in two weeks, brushing aside the threat of political interference amid the  power struggle in the country.

The organization would begin distributing aid mid-April, including tons of mostly US food and medical supplies that President Nicolas Maduro has to date refused to allow into the country – leaving it stockpiled for weeks on the borders with Colombia and Brazil.

Malnutrition and disease are on the rise as living conditions plummet in the oil-producing Latin American nation, which is spiralling ever deeper into economic chaos during a protracted political crisis.

Earlier, a new blackout hit Caracas and other major Venezuelan cities, the third major electricity outage in the crisis-plagued country this month.

The blackout left the capital as well as cities including Maracaibo, Valencia, Maracay and San Cristobal without electricity worsening the already dire economic and living conditions in a country that is witnessing a major political showdown between Maduro and opposition chief Juan Guaido.

Maduro has blamed the previous outages on sabotage, but the country’s infrastructure is crumbling from years of neglect.

Via BBC