Vienna (AFP) - The EU announced a 35 million euro ($41mn) aid package on Friday to counter the effect of Venezuela's economic crisis, which has sparked one of the biggest exoduses in Latin American history.

"I can announce today that the European Union just adopted a package of humanitarian aid of 35 million euros to support Venezuelans both inside Venezuela but also in the neighbouring countries and the host communities," EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Vienna.

Mogherini said the money would go to activities "focusing in particular on nutrition, water, health and the support to the most vulnerable people".

Venezuela's economy has collapsed into chaos under President Nicolas Maduro since 2013, with falling oil prices leading to chronic shortages of food and medicine and hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the country.

"We're extremely worried for the humanitarian situation in the country but also the effect on the neighbouring countries that are receiving massive waves of Venezuelans in their territory," Mogherini said.

Some 1.6 million Venezuelans have fled the country since 2015 as four years of recession and hyperinflation the International Monetary Fund predicts will reach one million percent this year have left large swathes of the population in poverty.

Maduro has systematically sidelined the opposition as he tightens his grip over Venezuela, with the political turmoil worsening the country's ability to deal with its economic collapse.

"We decided to step up our diplomatic engagement together with the countries in the region" to encourage fresh dialogue, Mogherini added on Friday.

Earlier this year the EU condemned "irregularities" in Maduro's re-election, citing "major obstacles" to the participation of the opposition.

In June Venezuela's vice-president and 10 other officials were hit by EU sanctions over the conduct of the election as well as other human rights abuses, prompting Venezuela to accuse the EU of "aggression and meddling". </s> Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez confirmed Thursday that the European Union approved 35 million euros (about $41 million) in humanitarian aid to help Latin America deal with the wave of Venezuelan refugees fleeing the crisis in their country.

"The Spanish government also has used its good offices within the framework of the European Union, and today ... in Brussels approval was given for 35 million euros that the (EU) will place at the disposal of the Latin American region to deal with this immigration crisis," said Sanchez in Bogota after meeting with Colombian President Ivan Duque. </s> Canada will provide $53 million in aid to help those most affected by the Venezuelan crisis, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday as he hosted a meeting of nearly dozen countries opposed to the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

“Today, Canada is stepping up and announcing $53 million to address the most pressing needs of Venezuelans on the ground, including the almost three million refugees,” Trudeau said in his opening remarks at at the John G. Diefenbaker Building in Ottawa.

“The bulk of the funds will go to trusted partners and neighbouring countries to help them support Venezuela and Venezuelans.”

Since the eruption of crisis in Venezuela in 2017, Canada has provided $2.2 million in humanitarian assistance to help the most vulnerable populations affected by the Venezuelan crisis, according to Global Affairs Canada.

With the additional $53 million announced by Trudeau Monday, Canada’s overall contribution to respond to the effects of the Venezuela crisis now stands at over $55 million.

Trudeau thanked foreign ministers from most of the Lima Group countries — Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Saint Lucia — for travelling to Ottawa to discuss their response to the political, economic and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela.

Ecuador, the European Union, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, the UK, and the U.S. have also joined the discussions in Ottawa.

Last week, as hundreds of thousands marched in capital Caracas to demand the end of Maduro’s socialist government, Canada joined the United States, the Organization of American States, and ten other Latin American states in recognizing Venezuela’s parliamentary speaker, Juan Guaido, as the country’s interim president.

Trudeau said he spoke with Guaido Sunday and was “pleased to convey Canada’s support personally.”

“This is a pivotal moment for the people of Venezuela: we are observing a widespread rejection of the Maduro regime’s illegitimate claim to power following fraudulent elections last May,” Trudeau said.

“For years now, we’ve witnessed the breakdown in democracy in Venezuela and a dictatorship willing to use force, fear and coercion to retain power. The violation of human rights and the complete disregard for the rule of law shown by the regime has been both inexcusable and unacceptable.”

Canada has not only called on Maduro to cede power to the “democratically elected” National Assembly but has also imposed sanctions on the socialist leader and his officials, Trudeau said.

“The use of excessive force against peaceful protesters, arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial killings – all have become staples of a dictatorship clinging to power at the expense of their people,” Trudeau said.

Guaido has given hope to countless people around the world, marking a turning point in the ongoing humanitarian, economic and political crisis that has plagued Venezuela for years, Trudeau said.

Venezuela now has “a legitimate interim president and a clear constitutional path forward to free and fair elections,” Trudeau said.

Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said Canada and other countries that have recognized Guaido have to do everything in their power to assist him in a peaceful restoration of democracy.

“Together we stand on the side of human rights, on the side of democracy, on the side of a peaceful, democratic and constitutional transition in Venezuela,” Freeland said. “We have been clear that the peaceful restoration of democracy and the rebuilding of the country must be led and driven by Venezuelans.”

One notable exception among Lima Group nations that was absent from the ministerial level meeting in Ottawa was Mexico.

Mexico’s newly-elected president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who had invited Maduro to attend his inauguration in Mexico City last December, is attempting a difficult diplomatic balancing act.

The left-leaning Mexican leader is trying to maintain a more or less neutral stand towards the political crisis in Venezuela and has refused to recognize Guaido or participate in international fora that support the self-proclaimed Venezuelan leader. On the other, hand Lopez Obrador, is careful not to alienate his largest trade partners the U.S. and Canada, that support Maduro’s ouster.

Maduro, however, has much more outspoken supporters with Russia, China, Turkey and Iran issuing statements of support for the socialist leader.

Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that actions by the U.S., Canada and other members of the so-called Lima Group “can only deepen the social divide in Venezuela, aggravate street protests, dramatically destabilise the Venezuelan political community and further escalate the conflict.” </s> The Red Cross has brokered a deal with representatives of Venezuela’s embattled leader Nicolás Maduro and his rival Juan Guaidó to allow humanitarian aid into the country, indicating a seldom-seen middle ground between the two men that contest the presidency.

The first shipment of aid for about 650,000 vulnerable people could reach Venezuela in two weeks, Francesco Rocca, the president of the International Federation of the Red Cross told a press conference on Friday.

“This is an operation similar to what’s going in Syria, in terms of the amount of people that will be attended,” Rocca said. “This obviously will not resolve the problems in Venezuela – and nobody should assume this is a complete solution.”

The shipment will include medical equipment, surgical kits and power generators – which are desperately needed as Venezuela grapples with devastating blackouts.

The operation once again puts humanitarian aid at the centre of the battle for power in Venezuela, following Guaidó’s failed attempt to unilaterally bring US-supported aid into the country last month.

Venezuela has been mired in an economic, political, and humanitarian crisis for five years. Shortages and hyperinflation - set to reach 10 million percent this year – have made medicines and even basic foodstuff hard to obtain for most people.

The average Venezuelan has lost 10kg in weight, according to Caritas, a Catholic humanitarian organisation, while 3 million people have fled.

Venezuela’s embattled president Nicolás Maduro has long denied the existence of a humanitarian crisis, and on 23 February blocked an effort led by Guaidó to bring aid into the country.

That day, violence erupted on Venezuela’s borders with Brazil and Colombia. Opposition supporters clashed with security forces, while some of the trucks carrying the food and medical supplies were burned in circumstances that remain unclear. Most of the trucks were turned around and little aid entered Venezuela.

Maduro portrayed the aid as a prelude to a foreign intervention, while his vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez, described the packages as “cancerous”.

The new effort seems more likely to succeed in large part because of the involvement of the Red Cross, which had distanced itself from the previous attempt to shift the aid into Venezuela.

“Today’s Red Cross development is clear evidence that independent shuttle diplomacy and separate negotiations with Maduro and the opposition can pay off in Venezuela,” tweeted Geoff Ramsey, a Venezuela analyst at the Washington Office on Latin America.

Rocca stressed that the delivery of aid must remain “independent, neutral, impartial and unhindered”.

Guaidó, speaking in a video posted to Twitter on Friday morning, was quick to seize the announcement as a win, claiming a “great victory in our struggle”.

Maduro has not yet made an announcement on the new aid delivery. </s> CARACAS: Twenty-five countries have pledged $100 million in aid to Venezuela, a top US official said Thursday, as the crisis-hit country's Supreme Court took aim at oil executives appointed by the opposition.

Venezuela is plagued by hyperinflation and major shortages of basic goods, and two men -- opposition leader Juan Guaido and President Nicolas Maduro -- are vying for control of the country.

The United States is among more than 50 countries that have recognized Guaido as interim president, but Maduro -- backed by the country's military as well as Russia, China and dozens of other states -- has so far refused to relinquish his office.

US national security advisor John Bolton made the announcement on the aid pledged to Venezuela following an Organization of American States conference on assisting the country.

"Today, 25 countries, united at the OAS-hosted Conference on Humanitarian Assistance in Support of Venezuela pledged $100 million in humanitarian assistance," Bolton tweeted.

According to David Smolanksy, coordinator of an OAS working group on migration and refugees from Venezuela, the money will go directly to aid collection centers set up on the borders with Colombia and Brazil and on the Caribbean island of Curacao.

At the opening of the conference in Washington, Guaido's representative in the United States, Carlos Vecchio, said the priority is to get aid into Venezuela on February 23 -- a month after Guaido declared himself Venezuela's interim president.

Guaido and Maduro have been locked in a battle over allowing aid into the country, and the military reinforced a blockade on Thursday at the border with Colombia, where the opposition leader has vowed to bring in desperately-needed goods.

AFP journalists saw several new freight containers blocking the road that connects the town of Urena in Venezuela to Cucuta in Colombia, where tons of US aid has been piling up for a week.

Venezuela is enduring the biggest economic crisis in its modern history, with hyperinflation predicted to hit 10 million percent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund.

On Wednesday, the opposition-controlled National Assembly -- which is headed by Guaido -- appointed executives to form new boards for Venezuelan state oil firm PDVSA and its US-based affiliate Citgo.

Venezuela's Supreme Court took aim at the move the following day, ordering that the new appointees face criminal prosecution.

The high court -- which is packed with Maduro loyalists -- ruled that the executives were named by a legislature whose decisions are "null," and that the appointees should face prosecution for crimes including "usurpation," "corruption," "organized crime" and "terrorism."

The Supreme Court decision set in motion the process of extraditing the accused, most of whom are in the United States, and freezing their accounts.

Guaido celebrated the appointments as a "step forward in the reconstruction of PDVSA," but Maduro had warned that those accepting "illegal" appointments would face justice.

A company executive insisted nothing has changed at PDVSA.

"The oil company is operating as it always does and we are aware of the imperialist attacks to which we are being submitted," said PDVSA's director for overseas operations, Yurbis Gomez.

The United States, which is leading the push to topple Maduro, has sanctioned key regime financial assets including the Citgo subsidiary, and President Donald Trump has refused to rule out military action against the leftist leader. </s> The United States on Wednesday announced nearly $9 million in aid to help those fleeing the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, days after Venezuela's president said the United States was home to financiers of what he has called an attempt on his life.

The United States' ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, made the announcement during a visit to Colombia's border with Venezuela, which Venezuelans have for months crossed in search of food, work and health care.

The funding will help Colombia address the influx of Venezuelans pouring across the border, according to the U.S. Agency for International Development. The U.S. has pledged more than $46 million in humanitarian aid in response to the crisis, USAID said.

Colombia said last month that over 870,000 Venezuelans were living in Colombia, and many of the several hundred thousand more who have Colombian origins are believed to be moving there, according to the Associated Press.

Haley on Wednesday visited Cúcuta, Colombia, a major crossing point for fleeing Venezuelans. On Tuesday, she attended the inauguration of Colombian President Ivan Duque.

The announcement came days after what Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has called an attempted assassination while he was speaking in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas. Maduro has said that opposition leaders were connected to Saturday's alleged attack, which involved exploding drones, and he has said some suspects reside in the Untied States and Colombia.

"I want to explain to the government of the United States and the government of Colombia in detail all the evidence that leads us to accomplices and direct responsible living in the state of Florida," Maduro said, according to the Associated Press. "I trust in the good faith of Donald Trump."

U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton on Sunday denied that the U.S. was involved in the incident. </s> CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — More than a dozen European Union countries endorsed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country's interim president Monday, piling the pressure on embattled President Nicolas Maduro to resign and clear the way for a new presidential election.

Maduro stood defiant, rejecting a U.S offer of humanitarian aid that has shifted attention to Venezuela's western border with Colombia, where opponents were gearing up to try to bring emergency food and medicine into the country.

"We are not beggars," Maduro said in a speech to troops broadcast on Venezuelan state TV.

Spain, Germany, France and Britain delivered diplomatic blows to Maduro's rule by publicly supporting Guaido after a Sunday deadline for Maduro to call a presidential election passed without action. Sweden, Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Poland and Portugal also lined up behind Guaido, who last month declared himself interim president with the support of the United States and many Latin American nations.

In Canada's capital, foreign ministers from the Lima Group of 13 Western Hemisphere countries that took the lead in recognizing Guaido as Venezuela's rightful leader discussed additional steps to pressure Maduro.

Before the closed-door meeting got under way, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned a "dictatorship willing to use force and fear" to maintain its power. He also announced $53 million in humanitarian aid to support the Venezuelan people.

"We know that the people of Venezuela are facing tremendous hardship and they need our help, as do the countries that have taken in those fleeing violence," Trudeau said.

The coalition called upon Venezuela's military to allow badly needed food and medicine across the border and show their loyalty to Guaido. They also urged the United Nationa and the international community to step up with humanitarian assistance.

Maduro showed no signs of caving in and lashed out at the EU, accusing it of taking orders from the Trump administration, who he has repeatedly accused of trying to carry out a coup to get its hands on Venezuela's oil reserves, the world's largest.

But he stopped short of breaking off diplomatic relations with the 16 European countries that recognized his rival Monday, unlike his swift move to cut off ties with the U.S. after it threw its support behind Guaido last month. A growing list of 38 countries has now recognized Guaido, including non-EU European nations Kosovo, Iceland and Albania.

Long-time backers Russia and China are among at least nine nations that have declared their support for Maduro.

Maduro was especially harsh on fellow socialist and Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, saying he would have "blood on his hands" if Maduro is toppled.

"They gave us an ultimatum, as if Venezuela was being governed from Madrid," said Maduro, who was addressing troops Monday on the 27th anniversary of the failed military uprising that thrust his political mentor, the late Hugo Chavez, onto the national stage.

Amid the rising pressure, Maduro has shown signs he's willing to negotiate.

In an interview that aired Monday with Italy's Sky TG24 he said that he had written Pope Francis asking for help in fostering dialogue with the opposition.

The Vatican didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Maduro's appeal. Recently, while in Central America, Francis called for a "just and peaceful" solution to the crisis in Venezuela. But he didn't say if the Holy See would recognize Guaido and said he had no business interfering in the crisis.

Some of the EU countries backing Guaido are part of a newly formed "International Contact Group" of eight European and four Latin American nations. It aims to facilitate dialogue and is due to hold its first meeting in Uruguay on Thursday.

Portugal's Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva said the group wants to end Venezuela's political stalemate through the ballot box, preventing a civil war or an "illegitimate foreign intervention."

Venezuela's opposition has rejected any offers of dialogue that don't include Maduro's exit as a starting point.

Meanwhile, the opposition was moving ahead with a risky strategy to bring in humanitarian aid from Colombia , hoping to break the all-important military's loyalty to Maduro.

"Soldiers of the fatherland: We need the humanitarian aid to come, for your mother, your sister and all your family," Guaido said at a news conference at the National Assembly to thank the European governments for their support.

"Otherwise we are sentenced to death," he said.

While U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton said last week that boxes of USAID branded baby formula and supplies for malnourished children are being readied to deploy to Venezuela, it's not clear how they can safely enter.

The International Committee of the Red Cross is among the groups who have warned about the dangers of deploying aid without the consent of the Maduro government, which has repeatedly rejected the offers.

Maduro denies the existence of a humanitarian crisis, calling it a fabrication by Venezuela's enemies to sow instability and justify a military intervention.

But David Lipton, the No. 2 at the International Monetary Fund, called Venezuela's economic crisis — marked by widespread food shortages, protracted hyperinflation and the loss of human capital through emigration — an "unprecedented economic storm" that will required generous, broad-based international support to overcome.

"We have seen versions of each," Lipton said on Twitter, "but rarely a combination as severe at this."

Associated Press writer Scott Smith reported this story in Caracas and AP writer Barry Hatton reported from Lisbon. AP writers Christine Armario in Cucuta, Colombia, and Tracey Lindeman in Ottawa, Canada, contributed to this report. </s> Latin American ministers met Monday to end the massive Venezuelan migrant crisis that has jolted the region, as Venezuela's government accused the United Nations of exaggerating the situation to justify "international intervention."

The delegates from 13 regional nations were seeking outside funding as they discussed in Quito a common solution to regularize the situation of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who have migrated due to a situation whose very existence Caracas denies.

Venezuelans who immigrate "are highly vulnerable to human trafficking, the smuggling of migrants, labor exploitation, lack of access to social security, extortion, violence, sexual abuse, recruitment for criminal activities, discrimination and xenophobia," said Ecuadoran Deputy Foreign Minister Andres Teran.

The two-day meeting in Quito precedes extraordinary talks at the Organization of American States set to begin Wednesday to discuss the same issue.

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said the government had complained to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that "individual officials" have been portraying "a normal migratory flow as a humanitarian crisis to justify an intervention."

The UN says 1.6 million Venezuelans since 2015 have fled economic meltdown in the country, which has been hit by shortages of basic necessities such as food and medicine.

Venezuela is in a fourth year of recession while the International Monetary Fund has predicted inflation in the South American country will reach one million percent this year.

The flood of migrants abandoning their country to seek a better life elsewhere has left countries such as Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador and Peru creaking under the strain.

In addition to discussing a common regulatory framework, Latin American nations are seeking to show the impact that the massive arrival of migrants has on various countries' finances.

Argentina's envoy Dario Giustozzi stressed the need to "unify" document requirements for Venezuelans, who depending on the nation must present a certificate, passport or visa.

The delegates from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic and Uruguay are scheduled to issue a joint statement on Tuesday.

The UN's representative in Ecuador, Arnaud Peral, celebrated the regional effort and urged international donors to continue contributing.

The United States, a fierce critic of Nicolas Maduro's government, has already disbursed aid to Colombia and Brazil to handle the Venezuelan influx, while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced last week European funding of 35 million euros ($40 million).

Most Venezuelan migrants have traveled to Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, but only Colombia has temporarily regularized some 820,000 Venezuelans.

With the exception of Bolivia and Nicaragua, most governments in the region reject the Maduro government as a dictatorship and blame it for the crisis.

At the same time, countries like Colombia are seeking greater international pressure to make way for a democratic transition.

Speaking at a press conference, Rodriguez said UN officials had been using data from "enemy countries" and presenting it "as if it was their own."

Rodriguez didn't identify who those officials or enemy states were, though.

"The worst humanitarian crisis the world is going through right now is that cause by NATO and European Union countries in Africa and the Middle East," added Rodriguez, who called on top EU diplomat Federica Mogherini to stamp out "fake news."

She pointed to a new UN report that stated nearly 1,600 migrants had died or gone missing in 2018 on "the way to Europe."

Rodriguez branded neighboring Colombia "pimps" and claimed it is seeking international funds in order to use Venezuela to "live" off donations.

But Colombian President Ivan Duque, who will host his US counterpart Donald Trump in November, advocated for a strategy to "diplomatically isolate Maduro," but batted down any possible "military intervention" led by the United States. </s> Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Many Venezuelans have fled the crisis-hit country to the island of Curaçao (file photo)

Thirty-two Venezuelan migrants are missing after the boat they were travelling on sank on its way to the island of Curaçao, a politician said.

The group left a village in the north-western Falcón state on a speedboat on Friday. Relatives said they had not heard from the group since.

It was the third Venezuelan migrant boat to capsize in recent weeks.

Some four million people have fled Venezuela since 2015, according to the United Nations.

A severe years-long economic crisis has resulted in high unemployment and shortages of food and medicine, and hundreds of thousands of people are said to be in need of humanitarian aid in the oil-rich country.

"No-one has been in touch with their families, which makes us fear the worst," said opposition politician Luis Stefanelli, who accused the government of "criminal negligence" for not deploying teams to search for the missing.

Venezuelan authorities have not yet commented.

The Dutch island of Curaçao is about 40 miles (64km) off the Venezuelan coast. Mr Stefanelli said each person had paid $400 (£313) for the crossing in a country where the monthly minimum wage is around $6.70.

Two other boats carrying migrants sank on separate journeys to Trinidad and Tobago in April and May, leaving more than 50 missing in total.

Last week, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said the exodus from the country meant that Venezuelans were now "one of the single largest population groups displaced from their country".

Latin American countries host the vast majority of Venezuelan migrants and refugees. Colombia has the most at 1.3 million, followed by Peru with 768,000, according to UN figures.

But countries in Central America and the Caribbean also host significant numbers of Venezuelans.

The government of President Nicolás Maduro says the shortages are a result of a US-led "economic war". The opposition argues that they are the result of mismanagement and corruption by socialist governments.

The crisis deepened in January after Juan Guaidó, the head of the National Assembly, declared himself interim president, arguing that Mr Maduro's re-election last year had been "illegitimate".

He has since been recognised by more than 50 countries, including the US and most of Latin America. But Mr Maduro retains the loyalty of most of the military and important allies such as China and Russia.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption What are the real reasons behind Venezuela’s blackouts?

In April, Mr Guaidó led a failed attempt to spark a military rebellion against Mr Maduro, who described the effort as part of a US-orchestrated coup. Since then, close allies of Mr Guaidó have been arrested. While his parliamentary immunity has been lifted, he has so far not been jailed.
The European Union announces an aid package of €35 million ($40.6 million) for Venezuelans, both inside the country and for those displaced in neighbouring countries.