The United States is among more than 50 countries that have recognized Guaido as interim president, but Maduro - backed by the country's military as well as Russia, China and dozens of other states - has so far refused to relinquish his office. US national security advisor John Bolton made the announcement on the aid pledged to Venezuela following an Organization of American States conference on assisting the 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 Curacao.
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 Maduro have been locked in a battle over allowing aid into the country, and the military reinforced a blockade on Thursday at the border with Colombia, where the opposition leader has vowed to bring in desperately-needed goods. AFP journalists saw several new freight containers blocking the road that connects the town of Urena in Venezuela to Cucuta in Colombia, where tons of US aid has been piling up for a week.