The Trump administration is sending another large shipment of humanitarian aid to the Venezuelan border in Colombia, for the first time using U.S. military aircraft as it increases pressure on Nicolas Maduro to give up power, according to a State Department email sent to Congress.

The announcement of additional aid comes as the Trump administration on Friday added Venezuela's oil boss and key intelligence officers to a long list of Maduro loyalists under U.S. financial sanctions.

The 250 tons of food supplies, hygiene kits and nutritional supplements will begin arriving Saturday to the border city of Cucuta, where tons of boxes of emergency aid stamped with the U.S. flag are already warehoused awaiting delivery into Venezuela.

The email sent Friday was provided to The Associated Press by a congressional aide who wasn't authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The aid came at the request of opposition leader Juan Guaido, who the U.S. and dozens of other countries have recognized as Venezuela's rightful leader after President Nicolas Maduro last month was sworn in for a second term widely seen as illegitimate.

Guaido has vowed to deliver the aid over the objections of Maduro, who in an exclusive interview Thursday with the AP said that the offer of U.S. assistance represents mere "crumbs" compared to hostile efforts to block the country's oil exports and restrict its access to foreign funding.

While the U.S. military has long supported civilian-led humanitarian assistance missions around the world, this is the first time they are being used to deploy aid for Venezuela. Last year, the U.S. government sent more than $100 million in aid to Cucuta to help Colombian authorities absorb some of the estimated 3 million of Venezuelans fleeing hyperinflation and food shortages.

In slapping new sanctions on Maj. Gen. Manuel Quevedo, the president of the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the oil executive had been instrumental in propping up what he called Maduro's illegitimate regime.

In the AP interview Maduro said Quevedo had been in India this week looking to drum up new business for PDVSA after the company was itself hit with sanctions aimed at cutting off an estimated $11 billion in profits.

The new sanctions also target four high-ranking intelligence officials, including the head of the feared SEBIN intelligence police and an elite commando unit known as FAES that is accused of several targeted killings.

In a statement, Mnuchin accused the officials of corruption and helping Maduro repress democracy in Venezuela — which includes using "torture and other brutal use of force."

"We are intent on going after those facilitating Maduro's corruption and predation," Mnuchin said, adding that Quevedo and others have syphoned off funds that "rightfully belong to the people of Venezuela."

The U.S. sanctions block access to any property the individuals own in the United States and bans U.S. citizens from doing business with them.

As U.S. pressure mounts, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters Friday in Reykjavik, Iceland, that he sees clear signs that Maduro is starting to understand Venezuelans reject him as their leader.

In the AP interview, Maduro said he was willing to meet President Donald Trump at any time or place to resolve the crisis over U.S. recognition of Guaido.

Pompeo said Maduro's request wasn't new, but it reflects that he's realizing his crisis-riddled nation rejects his "model of governance."

Pompeo wouldn't say whether he would send envoy Elliott Abrams to meet Maduro in Caracas.

Maduro told the AP that his foreign minister has met Abrams twice recently in New York for secret talks.</s>Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza introduced a group of countries opposed to the US-backed efforts to oust President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday.

READ MORE: How to Justify Attempted Coup d'Etat in Venezuela Using Fake News?

The group, which numbers more than 50 countries, including Russia, Cuba, China, Iran, would defend the key principles of the United Nations Charter that are being violated by the United States’ actions in Venezuela.

“Today we are announcing an important group of nations concerned about the need to retain respect for the founding principles of the UN Charter. We believe that these principles are being violated. We all have the right to live without the threat of force”, Arreaza said, citing sovereignty, equality of UN members in the General Assembly, non-intervention in domestic affairs, and the peaceful settlement of disputes.

Arreaza elaborated that the new group would be conducting “a series of actions to increase awareness around the dangers that our peoples currently face, particularly the case of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. We call upon all the member states of the UN to join us in defending international law as the only guarantor of… peaceful coexistence”.

The foreign minister said that the United States was trying to starve Venezuela and now is offering to send humanitarian aid.

“The US has blocked our economy of $30 billion… and they are sending humanitarian aid of $20 million? [They are] choking you, killing you and now saying ‘I am giving you a cookie’”, he added, probably referring to “high-energy biscuits packed with vitamins and minerals”, which Washington said were being airlifted to Colombia to be delivered to Caracas.

Commenting on reports that the US has been trying to turn Venezuela’s armed forces against President Maduro, Arreaza said that Washington needed to “rethink your strategy” because “this test of loyalty of the military is over”.

READ MORE: Russia Suspects Venezuela Coup by Military Means Becoming US Priority

In a parallel development, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia also expressed alarm over how events are unfolding in the South American country:

“We are very concerned that some hotheads are considering military action. We are categorically against it. It’s not just about the Maduro government. It’s about defending international law and the UN Charter”.

The statements by the diplomats come amid the Trump administration’s repeated claims that a military intervention in Venezuela was “an option”.

READ MORE: Guaido Was Recruited by the US a Decade Ago — Venezuelan Envoy to Russia

Responding to Trump’s remarks, Maduro has warned that he would make the US interference irreparable if Washington chooses to go ahead with the military option:

“We are planning to respond to a US intervention in such a way as to make [the US] suffer irreparable military and human losses”, he said.

During a hearing on the Venezuela crisis earlier this week, House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel said that US military intervention “is not an option”.

“Congress decides when, where and how the US military is used around the world, and Congress would not support military intervention in Venezuela”.

Venezuela’s self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido, in turn, has refused to rule out the possibility of authorising US military meddling to force out Maduro from office and end the humanitarian crisis.

The situation in the Latin American country further deteriorated after the head of the opposition-led National Assembly, Guaido, declared himself the interim head of state, and earned recognition of the United States, a handful of regional countries, and a number of European nations.

Since then, Washington has ramped up its efforts to make Maduro step aside in favour of Guaido, resorting to steep oil sanctions, while Maduro, as the legitimately elected president, has accused DC of staging a coup d’etat in the country.

Last week, Reuters cited an unnamed senior White House official as saying that the Trump administration was engaged in direct contacts with members of the Venezuelan armed forces, trying to convince them to pledge allegiance to Guaido.

READ MORE: Maduro Reveals Venezuelan Foreign Minister Secretly Met With US Envoy

Shortly before those claims, US National Security Adviser John Bolton tweeted that Washington would consider lifting sanctions on any senior military officers if they turn their backs on Maduro:

Maduro has slammed US sanctions as illegal, and broke diplomatic ties with Washington, having also said that a group of Venezuelan military defectors were conspiring in Colombia to "divide the national armed forces” at his command.

READ MORE: Possible US Military Action Toward Venezuela Gravely Violates Intl Law — Analyst

He also denounced a meeting between Trump and Colombian President Ivan Duque as a “feast of hatred” toward Venezuela.

“Today, the US president threatened to pursue a military invasion of Venezuela. I am asking the peoples of the world to express their solidarity [with Caracas]”, said Maduro, who’s spearheading a signature collection campaign against a US military intervention.</s>Joshua Goodman And Scott Smith, The Associated Press 

 



CARACAS, Venezuela -- The Trump administration is sending another large shipment of humanitarian aid to the Venezuelan border in Colombia, for the first time using U.S. military aircraft as it increases pressure on Nicolas Maduro to give up power, according to a State Department email sent to Congress.

The announcement of additional aid comes as the Trump administration on Friday added Venezuela's oil boss and key intelligence officers to a long list of Maduro loyalists under U.S. financial sanctions.

The 250 tons of food supplies, hygiene kits and nutritional supplements will begin arriving Saturday to the border city of Cucuta, where tons of boxes of emergency aid stamped with the U.S. flag are already warehoused awaiting delivery into Venezuela.

The email sent Friday was provided to The Associated Press by a congressional aide who wasn't authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The aid came at the request of opposition leader Juan Guaido, who the U.S. and dozens of other countries have recognized as Venezuela's rightful leader after President Nicolas Maduro last month was sworn in for a second term widely seen as illegitimate.

Guaido has vowed to deliver the aid over the objections of Maduro, who in an exclusive interview Thursday with the AP said that the offer of U.S. assistance represents mere "crumbs" compared to hostile efforts to block the country's oil exports and restrict its access to foreign funding.

While the U.S. military has long supported civilian-led humanitarian assistance missions around the world, this is the first time they are being used to deploy aid for Venezuela. Last year, the U.S. government sent more than $100 million in aid to Cucuta to help Colombian authorities absorb some of the estimated 3 million of Venezuelans fleeing hyperinflation and food shortages.

In slapping new sanctions on Maj. Gen. Manuel Quevedo, the president of the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the oil executive had been instrumental in propping up what he called Maduro's illegitimate regime.

In the AP interview Maduro said Quevedo had been in India this week looking to drum up new business for PDVSA after the company was itself hit with sanctions aimed at cutting off an estimated $11 billion in profits.

The new sanctions also target four high-ranking intelligence officials, including the head of the feared SEBIN intelligence police and an elite commando unit known as FAES that is accused of several targeted killings.

In a statement, Mnuchin accused the officials of corruption and helping Maduro repress democracy in Venezuela -- which includes using "torture and other brutal use of force."

"We are intent on going after those facilitating Maduro's corruption and predation," Mnuchin said, adding that Quevedo and others have syphoned off funds that "rightfully belong to the people of Venezuela."

The U.S. sanctions block access to any property the individuals own in the United States and bans U.S. citizens from doing business with them.

As U.S. pressure mounts, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters Friday in Reykjavik, Iceland, that he sees clear signs that Maduro is starting to understand Venezuelans reject him as their leader.

In the AP interview, Maduro said he was willing to meet President Donald Trump at any time or place to resolve the crisis over U.S. recognition of Guaido.

Pompeo said Maduro's request wasn't new, but it reflects that he's realizing his crisis-riddled nation rejects his "model of governance."

Pompeo wouldn't say whether he would send envoy Elliott Abrams to meet Maduro in Caracas.

Maduro told the AP that his foreign minister has met Abrams twice recently in New York for secret talks.</s>Sacks containing humanitarian aid are pictured at a warehouse near the Tienditas cross-border bridge between Colombia and Venezuela in Cucuta, Colombia February 14, 2019. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

MUNICH (Reuters) - U.S. military aircraft are expected to deliver more than 200 tons of humanitarian aid to the Venezuelan border in Colombia, with the shipment likely to take place on Saturday, a U.S. official said on Friday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. State Department planned to make an announcement about the shipment on Friday but provided no further details. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The U.S. special envoy on Venezuela last week said the aid effort was being coordinated with the opposition team but said the aid would not be forced into Venezuela.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has overseen an economic collapse in the oil-rich South American country that has left millions struggling to buy food and medicines and has fueled an unprecedented migration crisis in the region.

An aid convoy supplied by the United States and Colombia arrived in the Colombian border town of Cucuta last week, where it is being held in warehouses. Maduro has refused to let supplies in.

Self-declared president Juan Guaido, the opposition leader, told a huge rally of supporters on Tuesday that humanitarian aid would enter the country on Feb. 23.

Guaido invoked constitutional provisions to declare himself interim president last month, arguing that Maduro's 2018 re-election was a sham. Most Western countries, including the United States and many of Venezuela's neighbors, have recognized Guaido as the legitimate head of state.

Maduro retains the backing of Russia and China and control of Venezuelan state institutions including the military.

Seeking to strengthen support for Guaido, the United States has said it will try to channel aid to Venezuela via Colombia and possibly Brazil.

Maduro has called the aid a U.S.-orchestrated show and denies any crisis. However, opposition member Gustavo Tarre has said the sole aim is to ease "the suffering of Venezuelans" and has denied any political, economic or military motive.</s>Maduro reportedly extended an invitation to the US special envoy on Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, to meet with him. The State Department and Secretary of State would not comment on the prospect of such a meeting, but Mike Pompeo said Friday that the overture shows Maduro’s “increasing understanding that the Venezuelan people are rejecting him.”

Adding to the pressure campaign against the Maduro regime, the US Treasury Department announced sanctions against five individuals who are, as described by Secretary Steven Mnuchin, “in charge of Maduro’s security and intelligence apparatus, which has systematically violated human rights and suppressed democracy, including through torture and other brutal use of force.”

Meanwhile, three defense officials tell CNN that US military aircraft will help ferry humanitarian aid to countries neighboring Venezuela in the hopes that the aid might be delivered to the Guaido administration.

While the Trump administration has repeatedly refused to rule out a military option to end the Venezuelan crisis, officials stress that the US military will only be transporting the aid to the region, adding that the flights could take place as early as this weekend. Pompeo noted Friday that the US would continue to deliver “massive humanitarian assistance” “as soon as this weekend.” While the initial military flights are expected to go to Cucuta, Colombia, a senior USAID official said Wednesday that the US could fly aid directly into Venezuela. The Acting Assistant Administrator for USAID’s Latin America and Caribbean Bureau, Steve Olive said they are in daily communication with self-declared interim President Juan Guaido and his team on avenues to deliver humanitarian aid to Venezuela. “We are also committed to pre-positioning goods and supplies in other parts if that’s necessary,” Olive said. “We also are looking at scenarios of flying things in if the situation permits.” Olive said the Maduro is not allowing access, but that they hoped to “change that scenario shortly.” On Friday, Lt. Col. Jamie Davis said that the US pre-positioned supplies “including food, hygiene kits, and medical supplies” last week and would “continue to coordinate with President Guaidó and his team of experts, governments in the region, and our humanitarian partners to mobilize aid for the Venezuelan people.” Guaido told a large group of anti-regime protesters in Caracas Tuesday that humanitarian aid will enter Venezuela by February 23, calling on all Venezuelans to help hand out the supplies. Venezuela’s opposition envoy to the United States, Carlos Vecchio, accused Maduro’s government on Thursday of blocking humanitarian aid and manipulating the suffering of the people. “The pain of our people is being manipulated and they don’t care how much our people are suffering,” Vecchio said while speaking at an international aid conference hosted at the Organization of American States (OAS) headquarters in Washington. When two US trucks carrying food and medical supplies arrived at Venezuela’s border last week, they found the bridge to Venezuela blocked by an oil tanker and two large containers, according to a US official in the Colombian border town of Cucuta. In addition to Colombia, the government of the Netherlands announced Wednesday that the Caribbean island of Curaçao would also be used as a “hub” to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid bound for Venezuela “in close coordination” with Guaido and the US. Both the US and Dutch militaries have used facilities on Curaçao. US National Security Advisor John Bolton praised the move on Twitter. The announcement came just a day before the island was visited by Adm. Craig Faller, the head of US Southern Command which oversees military operations in South America. A spokesperson for Southern Command described the visit as long planned and said “there was no connection between the Admiral’s visit and the Dutch announcement.” The US, Canada and a majority of South American and Western European countries have recognized Guaido as the country’s interim president. Russia, China and Cuba continue to recognize the government of Maduro, who retains control over the country’s security forces.</s>MUNICH (Reuters) - U.S. military aircraft are expected to deliver more than 200 tons of humanitarian aid to the Venezuelan border in Colombia, with the shipment likely to take place on Saturday, a U.S. official said on Friday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. State Department planned to make an announcement about the shipment on Friday but provided no further details. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The U.S. special envoy on Venezuela last week said the aid effort was being coordinated with the opposition team but said the aid would not be forced into Venezuela.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has overseen an economic collapse in the oil-rich South American country that has left millions struggling to buy food and medicines and has fueled an unprecedented migration crisis in the region.

An aid convoy supplied by the United States and Colombia arrived in the Colombian border town of Cucuta last week, where it is being held in warehouses. Maduro has refused to let supplies in.

Self-declared president Juan Guaido, the opposition leader, told a huge rally of supporters on Tuesday that humanitarian aid would enter the country on Feb. 23.

Guaido invoked constitutional provisions to declare himself interim president last month, arguing that Maduro's 2018 re-election was a sham. Most Western countries, including the United States and many of Venezuela's neighbours, have recognised Guaido as the legitimate head of state.

Maduro retains the backing of Russia and China and control of Venezuelan state institutions including the military.

Seeking to strengthen support for Guaido, the United States has said it will try to channel aid to Venezuela via Colombia and possibly Brazil.

Maduro has called the aid a U.S.-orchestrated show and denies any crisis. However, opposition member Gustavo Tarre has said the sole aim is to ease "the suffering of Venezuelans" and has denied any political, economic or military motive.</s>MUNICH (Reuters) - U.S. military aircraft are expected to deliver more than 200 tons of humanitarian aid to the Venezuelan border in Colombia, with the shipment likely to take place on Saturday, a U.S. official said on Friday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. State Department planned to make an announcement about the shipment on Friday but provided no further details. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The U.S. special envoy on Venezuela last week said the aid effort was being coordinated with the opposition team but said the aid would not be forced into Venezuela.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has overseen an economic collapse in the oil-rich South American country that has left millions struggling to buy food and medicines and has fueled an unprecedented migration crisis in the region.

An aid convoy supplied by the United States and Colombia arrived in the Colombian border town of Cucuta last week, where it is being held in warehouses. Maduro has refused to let supplies in.

Self-declared president Juan Guaido, the opposition leader, told a huge rally of supporters on Tuesday that humanitarian aid would enter the country on Feb. 23.

Guaido invoked constitutional provisions to declare himself interim president last month, arguing that Maduro’s 2018 re-election was a sham. Most Western countries, including the United States and many of Venezuela’s neighbors, have recognized Guaido as the legitimate head of state.

Maduro retains the backing of Russia and China and control of Venezuelan state institutions including the military.

Seeking to strengthen support for Guaido, the United States has said it will try to channel aid to Venezuela via Colombia and possibly Brazil.

Maduro has called the aid a U.S.-orchestrated show and denies any crisis. However, opposition member Gustavo Tarre has said the sole aim is to ease “the suffering of Venezuelans” and has denied any political, economic or military motive. [nL1N2090UC]</s>The Trump administration is sending another large shipment of humanitarian aid to the Venezuelan border in Colombia, for the first time using U.S. military aircraft as it increases pressure on Nicolas Maduro to give up power, according to a State Department email sent to Congress.

The announcement of additional aid comes as the Trump administration on Friday added Venezuela's oil boss and key intelligence officers to a long list of Maduro loyalists under U.S. financial sanctions.

The 250 tons of food supplies, hygiene kits and nutritional supplements will begin arriving Saturday to the border city of Cucuta, where tons of boxes of emergency aid stamped with the U.S. flag are already warehoused awaiting delivery into Venezuela.

The email sent Friday was provided to The Associated Press by a congressional aide who wasn't authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The aid came at the request of opposition leader Juan Guaido, who the U.S. and dozens of other countries have recognized as Venezuela's rightful leader after President Nicolas Maduro last month was sworn in for a second term widely seen as illegitimate.

Guaido has vowed to deliver the aid over the objections of Maduro, who in an exclusive interview Thursday with the AP said that the offer of U.S. assistance represents mere "crumbs" compared to hostile efforts to block the country's oil exports and restrict its access to foreign funding.

While the U.S. military has long supported civilian-led humanitarian assistance missions around the world, this is the first time they are being used to deploy aid for Venezuela. Last year, the U.S. government sent more than $100 million in aid to Cucuta to help Colombian authorities absorb some of the estimated 3 million of Venezuelans fleeing hyperinflation and food shortages.

In slapping new sanctions on Maj. Gen. Manuel Quevedo, the president of the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the oil executive had been instrumental in propping up what he called Maduro's illegitimate regime.

In the AP interview Maduro said Quevedo had been in India this week looking to drum up new business for PDVSA after the company was itself hit with sanctions aimed at cutting off an estimated $11 billion in profits.

The new sanctions also target four high-ranking intelligence officials, including the head of the feared SEBIN intelligence police and an elite commando unit known as FAES that is accused of several targeted killings.

In a statement, Mnuchin accused the officials of corruption and helping Maduro repress democracy in Venezuela — which includes using "torture and other brutal use of force."

"We are intent on going after those facilitating Maduro's corruption and predation," Mnuchin said, adding that Quevedo and others have syphoned off funds that "rightfully belong to the people of Venezuela."

The U.S. sanctions block access to any property the individuals own in the United States and bans U.S. citizens from doing business with them.

As U.S. pressure mounts, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters Friday in Reykjavik, Iceland, that he sees clear signs that Maduro is starting to understand Venezuelans reject him as their leader.

In the AP interview, Maduro said he was willing to meet President Donald Trump at any time or place to resolve the crisis over U.S. recognition of Guaido.

Pompeo said Maduro's request wasn't new, but it reflects that he's realizing his crisis-riddled nation rejects his "model of governance."

Pompeo wouldn't say whether he would send envoy Elliott Abrams to meet Maduro in Caracas.

Maduro told the AP that his foreign minister has met Abrams twice recently in New York for secret talks.</s>Embattled Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro claims that officials from his administration met with President Trump’s envoy to Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, and extended an invitation for him to visit Venezuela, the Associated Press reported on Thursday.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza has met Abrams twice, Maduro said, and invited the U.S.-based envoy to visit the country “privately, publicly, or secretly."

”If he wants to meet, just tell me when, where and how and I’ll be there," Maduro told the AP, adding that he also hopes to meet President Trump.

A State Department spokesperson would not confirm that Maduro extended an invitation to Abrams but told The Post in an e-mail that “it should come as no surprise that State Department officials exchange opinions with a wide variety of foreign interlocutors, especially while we continue to take all steps to ensure the safety and security of our Embassy personnel on the ground in Caracas.”

Venezuela has been submerged in a worsening political crisis since last month, when opposition leader Juan Guaidó declared himself interim president. The United States and other foreign powers have recognized Guaidó as the leader of Venezuela even as Maduro, who won re-election in a widely contested vote last May, refuses to step down.

The recent political turmoil emerged after years of economic crisis, including hyperinflation that made the costs of basic goods soar. Food and medicine were soon out of reach for many Venezuelans. Millions of people have fled the country in recent years and those who are left are now in the midst of a humanitarian crisis.

Maduro blamed Trump’s “infected hand” for Venezuela’s woes, telling the A.P. that U.S. sanctions on Venezuela’s once-thriving oil industry are the reason for the country’s troubles.

Maduro’s administration is refusing to allow humanitarian aid donated through the opposition to enter the country, even as millions of people go hungry. This week, his government announced that they would soon receive 933 tons of “health products” from China and Cuba.

In the AP interview, Maduro said the opposition-organized aid, which includes contributions from the United States, amounts to “crumbs.”

“They hang us, steal our money and then say ‘here, grab these crumbs’ and make a global show out of it,” he said, adding that he is not “afraid” of what may come next. “I’m only worried about the destiny of the fatherland and of our people, our boys and girls... this is what gives me energy.”</s>The Trump administration is sending another large shipment of humanitarian aid to the Venezuelan border in Colombia, for the first time using U.S. military aircraft as it increases pressure on Nicolas Maduro to give up power, according to a State Department email sent to Congress.

The announcement of additional aid comes as the Trump administration on Friday added Venezuela's oil boss and key intelligence officers to a long list of Maduro loyalists under U.S. financial sanctions.

The 250 tons of food supplies, hygiene kits and nutritional supplements will begin arriving Saturday to the border city of Cucuta, where tons of boxes of emergency aid stamped with the U.S. flag are already warehoused awaiting delivery into Venezuela.

The email sent Friday was provided to The Associated Press by a congressional aide who wasn't authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The aid came at the request of opposition leader Juan Guaido, who the U.S. and dozens of other countries have recognized as Venezuela's rightful leader after President Nicolas Maduro last month was sworn in for a second term widely seen as illegitimate.

Guaido has vowed to deliver the aid over the objections of Maduro, who in an exclusive interview Thursday with the AP said that the offer of U.S. assistance represents mere "crumbs" compared to hostile efforts to block the country's oil exports and restrict its access to foreign funding.

While the U.S. military has long supported civilian-led humanitarian assistance missions around the world, this is the first time they are being used to deploy aid for Venezuela. Last year, the U.S. government sent more than $100 million in aid to Cucuta to help Colombian authorities absorb some of the estimated 3 million of Venezuelans fleeing hyperinflation and food shortages.

In slapping new sanctions on Maj. Gen. Manuel Quevedo, the president of the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the oil executive had been instrumental in propping up what he called Maduro's illegitimate regime.

In the AP interview Maduro said Quevedo had been in India this week looking to drum up new business for PDVSA after the company was itself hit with sanctions aimed at cutting off an estimated $11 billion in profits.

The new sanctions also target four high-ranking intelligence officials, including the head of the feared SEBIN intelligence police and an elite commando unit known as FAES that is accused of several targeted killings.

In a statement, Mnuchin accused the officials of corruption and helping Maduro repress democracy in Venezuela — which includes using "torture and other brutal use of force."

"We are intent on going after those facilitating Maduro's corruption and predation," Mnuchin said, adding that Quevedo and others have syphoned off funds that "rightfully belong to the people of Venezuela."

The U.S. sanctions block access to any property the individuals own in the United States and bans U.S. citizens from doing business with them.

As U.S. pressure mounts, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters Friday in Reykjavik, Iceland, that he sees clear signs that Maduro is starting to understand Venezuelans reject him as their leader.

In the AP interview, Maduro said he was willing to meet President Donald Trump at any time or place to resolve the crisis over U.S. recognition of Guaido.

Pompeo said Maduro's request wasn't new, but it reflects that he's realizing his crisis-riddled nation rejects his "model of governance."

Pompeo wouldn't say whether he would send envoy Elliott Abrams to meet Maduro in Caracas.

Maduro told the AP that his foreign minister has met Abrams twice recently in New York for secret talks.
A senior United States administration official says the U.S. is willing to meet with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to negotiate an exit to the crisis, as the U.S. military helps deliver aid to Venezuela.