THE HAGUE, WILLEMSTAD - The Netherlands is establishing a humanitarian hub in Curaçao for assistance to Venezuela. This is done at the request of Curaçao, the United States and Juan Guaidó, the parliament president who was recently recognized by the Netherlands as the rightful interim president of Venezuela.

The 'humanitarian hub' is intended for the coordination of aid to Venezuelans, of which in recent years under the leadership of President Maduro millions have become impoverished. As a result, Curaçao is currently being flooded by Venezuelan refugees.

"With this, the government wants to ensure that aid is actually made available to the people of Venezuela," Minister Blok (Foreign Affairs) writes to the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament.

Tensions are high in Venezuela now that Maduro, despite international pressure and mass protests in the capital Caracas, refuses to give up his presidency. Assistance is only allowed sporadically, but for the most part blocked.

The Netherlands last week recognized Guaidó as acting president of Venezuela. Previously, it was Spain, France, Great Britain, Austria and Denmark that recognized him as the rightful president of Venezuela. The US, Canada and the main South American countries immediately supported Guaidó when he proclaimed himself president on 23 January.