Along with aid, the aircraft can deliver deportees.
U.S. military aircraft are being used to transport humanitarian aid for Venezuela to a city in Colombia near the border of the two countries, a defense official confirmed Friday.
More than 200 tons of humanitarian aid, including food, medical supplies, and hygiene kits, from the State Department’s U.S. Agency for International Development will begin to arrive Saturday to a city in Colombia that is close to the Venezuelan border, according to a defense official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The aircraft used could be C-17 Globemasters, used to move cargo and troops, the official said, but he did not know how many would be used to deliver the aid. The U.S. military will be assisting with sending the aid to Colombia over an unspecified period of time, he said.
The official said the military’s only role is to help drop off the aid and then leave. The only military personnel will be the air crews of the C-17s, which consists of two pilots and one loadmaster, according to an Air Force fact sheet. No troops are being sent there to hand out the supplies or move them across the border.