Ivanka Trump visits Venezuelan migrant camp in Colombia

Ivanka Trump, President Trump’s adviser and daughter, and administration officials visited a Colombian shelter for Venezuelan migrants.

The visit comes as the administration announced additional aid in response to Venezuela’s political crisis.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Mark Green and Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan announced more than $120 million in U.S. humanitarian assistance, according to a statement from State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus. 

{mosads}The funding will support emergency food and health aid for Venezuelans in Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil and other places in the region. 

Trump and Sullivan also participated in a bilateral meeting with officials from the coalition of Juan Guaidó, who President Trump and other world leaders have recognized as Venezuela’s interim president, according to a White House official.  

Guaidó invoked the constitution in January to assume a rival presidency, saying Maduro’s 2018 reelection was fraudulent. He has been recognized by more than 50 countries besides the United States as Venezuela’s legitimate president.

The aid announcement brings the total assistance provided by the U.S. in response to the situation in Venezuela up to $376 million since 2017, said Ortagus’s statement. 

“The United States commends interim President Juan Guaidó and the National Assembly for addressing and prioritizing this humanitarian crisis,” Ortagus added. 

Trump and Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan participated in a bilateral meeting with officials from the coalition of Juan Guaidó, who President Trump and other world leaders have recognized as the country’s interim president, according to a White House official.  

Ivanka Trump tweeted about the trip, which also included a visit to a women-owned strawberry farm.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced last week that the U.S. had opened an interim diplomatic Venezuela office in Columbia, saying the office would “continue to work for the restoration of democracy and the constitutional order in that country, and the security and well-being of the Venezuelan people.”

The U.S. has backed Guaidó as he has attempted to force President Nicolás Maduro out of power. 

— Updated at 5:33 p.m.