Venezuelan Authorities: Terrorists Behind La Guaira Food Warehouse Arson

CARACAS (Sputnik) - Jorge Luis Garcia Carneiro, the governor of the Venezuelan state of Vargas, said on Wednesday, that the fire at a warehouse in Venezuela’s port city of La Guaira, where food is stored for distribution among the population in the framework of the government program, was a crime committed by terrorists.

"We have no doubt that these are the acts committed by terrorists, these are their criminal hands that encroach on the food of our people", Garcia Carneiro said at a press conference, adding that investigators along with firefighters continued to establish a cause of the fire.

The fire in La Guaira, which is located in Vargas state near Caracas, began on Wednesday morning. Most of the supplies were delivered by Mexican private firms under a deal with the Venezuelan government.

CLAP Food warehouse on fire in the port of La Guaira pic.twitter.com/iGeJGmZyiA">https://t.co/iGeJGmZyiA#HandsOffVenezuela

— Vanessa Prevost (@vanessa_p_831) 27 February 2019

The fire came less than a week after the Venezuelan opposition tried to smuggle in alleged US relief aid from Brazil and Colombia, whose authorities have recognized self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s leader.

#27Feb Sabotaje provoca incendio en "Puerto de La Guaira" donde se almacenan productos CLAP. Los terroristas sabiendose derrotados el 23F, también en la ONU y hasta en el propio grupo de Lima, atentan contra la comida del pueblo para luego gritar "el pueblo tiene hambre" pic.twitter.com/n4henjxkW6

— Moringadas (@Moringadas2016) 27 February 2019

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has shown to foreign lawmakers and young politicians who have arrived in Venezuela, several video clips that, according to him, prove that the country's opposition had committed "crimes" on 23 February, when conflict over the so-called humanitarian aid escalated.

READ MORE: Caracas Invites UN Human Rights Chief to Visit Venezuela to See Sanctions Impact

In particular, the first video Maduro provided featured people, with their faces covered with scarfs, throwing Molotov cocktails at Venezuelan police and military officers. The second shows a long table with the equipment necessary to make Molotov cocktails. Finally, the third video featured one of the trucks with the so-called humanitarian assistance that had been burnt down at the border.

Maduro has repeatedly denied a humanitarian crisis in Venezuela and has banned foreign assistance which he sees as a prelude to invasion. He has also threatened to put Guaido, who he calls a US puppet, on trial once he returns to the country.

Similarly, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has meanwhile said that international law provided for deliveries of foreign humanitarian aid only in cases of natural disasters and armed conflicts and denied the allegations of a humanitarian crisis in the country.

The United Nations and the Red Cross have also urged Washington not to politicize humanitarian assistance and not to deliver aid without the consent of the Venezuelan government.

READ MORE: US Aim in Venezuela is Regime Change, Including Military Option — Russian Envoy

Maduro has repeatedly accused Washington of trying to orchestrate a coup after US-backed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president last month. Within days of Guaido's announcement, the United States seized billions of dollars' worth of Venezuelan oil assets. Russia, China, Cuba, Bolivia and a number of other states reaffirmed their support for constitutionally elected Maduro as Venezuela’s only legitimate president.