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Mainstream media ignoring illegality of US aid to Venezuela: Commentator

Sunday, 24 February 2019 1:59 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 24 February 2019 2:04 PM ]

The mainstream media is ignoring the fact that the so-called US aid is entering Venezuela illegally, says a political commentator, adding that the government of President Nicolas Maduro has made it clear that the aid is not welcome.

The comments came after trucks of aid returned to warehouses in Colombia on Saturday after Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido's supporters failed to break through the lines of troops who dispersed them with tear gas and rubber rounds.

“There is no doubt that force was used against the aid coming into the country from the United States. However, what’s been left out of this is the fact that Venezuela has repeatedly said that their aid was not welcome … and in fact we’ve got the media misrepresenting the situation on the ground,” Jason Unruhe told Press TV in an interview on Sunday.

“The government has made it very clear that US aid is not welcome. They are happy to take aid from China, the United Nations and Russia. However, the United States is not welcome but they are forcing it on the country anyway. This is essentially for all intents and purposes and invasion aim should be repelled as much but we are not going to hear about that from the mainstream media but this was largely set up by forces in the United States like Juan Guaido in order to promote a propaganda op against the country,” he added.

On February 16, a US military transport plane carrying humanitarian aid landed in Cucuta, Colombia. The shipment was the second arrival of large-scale US and international aid for Venezuelans, many of whom have scant access to food and medicine, since Guaido declared himself interim president in defiance of socialist Maduro.

The Venezuelan government says the humanitarian aid is a cover to topple it, urging Washington to lift its crippling sanctions instead if it genuinely wants to help the Venezuelans.