Caracas, March 21 (RHC)-- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has denounced that the U.S. government is withholding $5 billion dollars from Venezuela, which was earmarked to purchase supplies to manufacture medicines.

"A tremendous effort is made so that free and quality health reaches all the people, to be able to bypass all the aggression of Donald Trump’s government,” said President Maduro during an official event to relaunch the national pharmaceutical industry, one of the main focus points of the Bolivarian Economic Agenda. 

The ceremony took place in the Jipana Robotic Warehouse in the state of Miranda, the largest of five warehouses built with the support of China to improve the distribution of medicines and medical supplies for the entire National Public Health System.  The other four depots are located in Barinas, Lara, Aragua, and Anzoategui.

The Venezuelan president also announced that next week several tons of medicines and active ingredients will arrive from Russia, adding that soon a plan for the production, distribution, and import of medicines with the World Health Organization (WHO) will be launched.