25 Countries Pledge $100 Million Aid To Venezuela, US Announces

Twenty-five countries have pledged $100 million in aid to crisis-hit Venezuela, US national security advisor John Bolton announced Thursday following an Organization of American States conference on assisting the crisis-hit country.

"Today, 25 countries, united at the OAS-hosted Conference on Humanitarian Assistance in Support of Venezuela pledged $100 million in humanitarian assistance," Bolton tweeted.

According to David Smolanksy, coordinator of an OAS working group on migration and refugees from Venezuela, the money will go directly to aid collection centers set up on the borders with Colombia and Brazil and on the Caribbean island of Curazao.

At the opening of the conference in Washington, Guaido's representative in the United States, Carlos Vecchio, said the priority is to get aid into Venezuela on February 23 -- a month after Guaido declared himself Venezuela's interim president.

Guaido and President Nicolas Maduro have been locked in a battle over allowing aid into the country -- with Maduro arguing doing so would set the stage for US military intervention.

Venezuela is enduring the biggest economic crisis in its modern history, with hyperinflation predicted to hit 10 million percent this year according to the International Monetary Fund.

Thursday's conference was held at the request of OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro.

But the OAS itself is divided on the crisis: while the body approved a resolution denouncing Maduro, only 16 of its 34 members signed a declaration recognizing Guaido as acting president.