Trump to meet Jair Bolsonaro on March 19: White House

Washington, March 9 (IANS) US President Donald Trump will meet with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in the White House on March 19, the White House said on Friday in a statement.

Trump and Bolsonaro would discuss defence cooperation, trade policies, combating transnational crime, and Venezuela issues, according to the statement.

The two leaders will also talk about their efforts to provide "humanitarian assistance" to Venezuela, Xinhua news agency reported.

The US has piled up a large amount of "humanitarian aid" in the Colombian border city of Cucuta and Brazil's Boa Vista near its border with Venezuela.

The Venezuelan government refused to let the aid cross the borders and called the aid operation a US-orchestrated show designed to lead to an eventual invasion.

The US and Brazil recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the nation's "interim president" on January 23, days after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was inaugurated for a second term as president.

In response to Washington's support for Guaido, Maduro announced he was severing "diplomatic and political" ties with the US, ordering all the US diplomatic and consular personnel to leave Venezuela in 72 hours. Maduro on February 21 also ordered to close the Venezuela-Brazil border because of Brasilia's support of Guaido.