U.S. Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23) and Donna Shalala (FL-27) visited the Colombian-Venezuelan border over the weekend to review humanitarian aid, public health and the political crisis under Venezuela’s Maduro regime.
“Maduro is starving his people. We are here to make sure the Venezuelan people know that Democrats and Republicans in the United States are united in bringing humanitarian aid into Venezuela, standing behind interim President Juan Guaidó, and pressing for fair and free elections for its people.” said Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz.
On Saturday, Wasserman Schultz met with Colombian President Iván Duque and local health and aid officials. On Sunday, Donna Shalala traveled to Cúcuta to meet with Colombian Ambassador to the United States Francisco Santos. They also inspected the Tienditas Bridge where Maduro has placed blockades across the roadway. The bridge crosses the border from Colombia, where humanitarian aid is ready to send to Venezuela, and it desperately needed just a few miles away.
Wasserman Schultz and Shalala represent one of the most significant concentrations of Venezuelan and Colombian populations in the United States. Each Member has also introduced legislation in Congress, along with fellow Florida Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, to address humanitarian needs, and to discourage weapon exports and Russian influence in Venezuela.