Mike Pence asked the UN to recognize Juan Guaidó as legitimate president of Venezuela

The vice president of the United States, Mike Pence, on Wednesday called on the United Nations to recognize the opposition Juan Guaidó “as the legitimate president of Venezuela.”

Venezuelan President Nicolás “Maduro must leave,” Pence told a meeting of the Security Council on the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, requested by Washington.

“The time has come for the UN to recognize Juan Guaidó as the legitimate president of Venezuela and accept his representative in this organization,” report.

He said: “The president of the United States looked at the ambassador of Venezuela to the UN, Samuel Moncada, said:” With all due respect, Mr. Ambassador, you should not be here, “he said.

“You should go back to Venezuela and tell Maduro that his time has come, that the time has come for him to leave,” he added, while Moncada smiled sarcastically and shook his head.

The UN has the support of the international community to respond to the “very real humanitarian problem” that exists in Venezuela, where there is a quarter of the population that needs help.

The time has come for the UN to recognize Juan Guaidó as the legitimate president of Venezuela (Pence)

“We assure the human head of the United Nations”, Mark Lowcock, in a speech before the Security Council that will meet on Wednesday to see the humanitarian situation in the South American country.

Lowcock called for Council support in related areas: the separation of political and humanitarian issues in Venezuela, the presence of humanitarian organizations in the field and more money to fund the expansion of aid programs.

In that sense, the file “The resources available right now are” extremely modest in relation to the needs “.

According to the results of the UN, some 7 million people – around 25% of the population of the country – need humanitarian aid, groups of people with chronic diseases, pregnant women and children in a particularly vulnerable situation.

We can do more to alleviate the suffering of Venezuelans (Mark Lowcock)

Lowcock recalled that the situation continues to deteriorate, with a continuing economic contraction and an increase in inflation “on a scale seen in a few countries.” In recent years.

The crisis has had a clear impact on the diets of Venezuelans, according to the UN, with an increase in malnutrition, which in 2018 suffered some 3.7 million people.

The United Nations estimates that 1.9 million people require nutritional assistance, including 1.3 million children under the age of five, although he acknowledges that he needs more information to have a more accurate picture.

In the field of health, Lowcock warned that the health system is suffering from shortages of personnel, supplies, equipment and electricity.

Mortality from diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cancer or AIDS is increasing due to lack of care, while diseases such as tuberculosis, diphtheria or malaria are returning, he explained.

In total, the UN estimates that 2.8 million people need health support.

In addition, the crisis has interrupted education for more than one million children and many people need protection, especially those who have left their homes and left the country, a figure that reaches 3.4 million in recent years.

With information from AFP and EFE