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NEU Senior Regional Support Officer
IMF refuses Venezuela emergency coronavirus loan over refusal to back Maduro as President
A worker at a state-owned Maternity Hospital manufactures face masks in Caracas, Venezuela

THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has rejected Venezuela’s request for a $5 billion (£4.24bn) emergency-support package to help strengthen the country’s health system in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak.

President Nicolas Maduro wrote to the global financial organisation earlier this week asking for support as the country struggles to cope with crippling US economic sanctions.

In a letter to IMF director Kristalina Georgieva, he said: “Only under the spirit of solidarity, brotherhood, and social discipline, will we be able to overcome the situation that comes our way and we will know how to protect the life and wellbeing of our peoples.”

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