The first shipment of humanitarian aid from the Red Cross arrived in Venezuela on Tuesday to alleviate its economic crisis.

"The International Red Cross today delivered its first batch of support for Venezuela, together with the revolutionary government that I lead, and it was received in a legal and orderly way, complying with international protocols," Maduro said in a speech broadcast on state television.

"This is a great step forward to support vulnerable people in the country!" tweeted Francesco Rocca, president of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Tuesday's shipment, which arrived via airplane from Panama, included 14 power generators, 5,000 liters of distilled water, and three surgery equipment kits capable of serving 10,000 patients each, according to the Red Cross.

The supply will be distributed amongst eight hospitals and 30 outpatient clinics, half of them are public organizations, said Health Minister Carlos Alvarado, who blamed the shortages of basic necessities such as food and medicine to U.S. sanctions, and expressed his appreciation to all humanitarian aid that authorized by Venezuela's government, which he said will help to ease the complicated status of the country.

Some 30 trucks moved the supplies from the Maiquetia airport to a Venezuelan Red Cross collection center in Caracas, AFP journalists said.

Some 3,100 volunteers will take part in the distribution of the supplies that arrived from Panama.

Last week, Maduro and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) agreed to allow in the humanitarian aid.

Supplies destined for Venezuela's long-suffering population formed the basis of a stand-off between Maduro and the speaker of the National Assembly, Juan Guaido, who launched a direct challenge to the president's authority in January, arguing Maduro's 2018 re-election was illegitimate.

Guaido has since been claimed himself as the interim president and recognized by most Western countries as a rightful leader, while Maduro denied his legitimacy and refused to let humanitarian aid stockpiled over the border in Colombia into the country which he believed was nothing more than a smokescreen to cover a U.S.-led invasion.

Guaido said the entry of aid was "recognition of the failure of the regime that until a few weeks ago was denying the existence of a humanitarian emergency."

Mario Villarroel, president of Red Cross Venezuela, urged both sides to avoid "politicizing this great achievement," and again stressed the distribution of the humanitarian aid will result in conformance with the fundamental principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence.

"Our mandate is to help save lives," he said.

(With inputs from agencies)