CARACAS – The Venezuelan Medical Federation (FMV) is demanding transparency regarding the whereabouts of more than 70 tons of medicines and hospital supplies donated by the United States, claiming that the aid has not reached hospitals across the country.
FMV President Douglas León Natera renewed the call this week, stating that medical professionals have been unable to verify the arrival of the supplies at healthcare facilities despite official announcements that the shipments had been delivered to Venezuela.
According to León Natera, the donations consisted of approximately 71 tons of medicines and surgical supplies that arrived in two shipments earlier this year. The first shipment reportedly contained about six tons of essential medicines, while a second delivery included approximately 65 tons of medical and surgical supplies intended to help alleviate shortages in Venezuela's struggling healthcare system.
“There's really nothing in the hospitals,” León Natera said, according to Venezuelan media reports. The federation has called for an investigation into the final destination of the supplies and insists that authorities provide a detailed accounting of how the aid was distributed.
The controversy comes amid longstanding concerns over the condition of Venezuela's healthcare system. León Natera has stated that after consulting hospitals and medical associations in multiple states, healthcare professionals reported that they had not received the medicines and supplies that were publicly announced.
The allegations have sparked a public debate over accountability and transparency in the handling of humanitarian assistance. The FMV argues that if the supplies were delivered as announced, authorities should be able to identify which hospitals, clinics and healthcare centers received them.
However, the United States government has rejected suggestions that the shipments never reached Venezuelan authorities. According to statements reported by several media outlets, the U.S. State Department confirmed that the supplies were delivered to Venezuela's Ministry of Health for distribution. U.S. officials said the deliveries were coordinated with international organizations, including the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and that the shipments successfully reached the ministry.
The dispute therefore centers not on whether the aid entered Venezuela, but on what happened after it was handed over to health authorities.
León Natera maintains that hospitals continue to face severe shortages of medicines, surgical materials and equipment. He has argued that if such a large quantity of supplies had been distributed throughout the healthcare network, medical personnel would have seen evidence of it.
The federation has thanked U.S. officials for responding to its concerns but continues to press for a transparent audit of the distribution process. For healthcare workers, the central question remains unanswered: where did the medicines go?