Skip to main content

A US shipment of medicine to Venezuela signals a new era of cooperation

MAIQUETIA, Venezuela (AP) — A shipment from the United States of medicine and medical supplies arrived in Venezuela on Friday, reflecting a new spirit of cooperation between the two countries following the stunning capture last month of then-President Nicolás Maduro.

Laura Dogu, the U.S. top diplomat in the South American country, and Venezuelan diplomat Félix Plasencia, received the shipment containing 6 metric tons of supply at the airport outside Venezuela’s capital, Caracas.

“It’s very important to stabilize the health system here in Venezuela,” Dogu told reporters at the airport in Maiquetía. She added that the shipment was “the first of many donations” that will arrive “in the coming days.”

Venezuela’s complex crisis, which began more than a decade ago, led to the collapse of the country’s public health care system. Hospitals are so poorly equipped that patients are asked to provide supplies needed for their care, from syringes to surgical screws.

Plasencia described the donation as a “message of cooperation among two sovereign countries.

“We’re doing the best for our people,” he said.

___

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Iran’s Kharg Island is key to its oil exports. Targeting it carries major risks

Iran's Kharg Island, home to a terminal through which the country exports most of its oil, has emerged as a focus of the month-old war launched by the United States and Israel. Strikes on oil infrastructure on Kharg — or a ground invasion — would severely curb Iran's oil exports, a key source of revenue for the Islamic Republic. It would also mark a major escalation that could provoke even heavier retaliatory attacks on Gulf Arab infrastructure and further drive up oil prices. The skyrocketing cost of fuel is already threatening the world economy. A U.S. occupation of the island would put American troops in a stationary position just 33 kilometers (21 miles) off Iran's coast, well within range of its arsenal of drones and missiles. Other islands near the vital Strait of Hormuz could also be targeted. Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunb islands are held by Iran but long claimed by the United Arab Emirates, a close U.S. ally. Qeshm Island is home to a desalination plant.
Read Next Story