Venezuela officials said a shipment of medicine and medical supplies sent from the United States arrived in the country on Friday, after what the Associated Press described as a renewed diplomatic relationship following Nicolás Maduro’s capture last month. The delivery reached an airport outside Caracas, where U.S. diplomat Laura Dogu and Venezuelan diplomat Félix Plasencia met the shipment on the ground.
Dogu said the shipment was intended to help stabilize Venezuela’s health system, which the report said has been weakened for more than a decade. At the airport in Maiquetía, Dogu told reporters that the arrival was “very important to stabilize the health system here in Venezuela,” and she said the shipment was “the first of many donations” that will arrive “in the coming days.”
Plasencia, who also received the donation, described it as a diplomatic signal between the countries. He characterized the donation as a “message of cooperation among two sovereign countries,” and said, “We’re doing the best for our people.”
According to the Associated Press, Venezuela’s public health care system has collapsed amid a complex crisis that began more than a decade ago. The report said hospitals are so poorly equipped that patients are asked to provide supplies needed for their care, including items ranging from syringes to surgical screws.