Thousands of people in Venezuela are experiencing severe hunger due to the economic meltdown that hit the South American country, yet their own leaders will not allow Roman Catholic organisations to send help.

The move to block aid by the Venezuelan government under President Nicolas Maduro has prompted a top prelate from the country to openly criticise their leaders.

In a speech at the Venezuelan Conference of Catholic Bishops' recent plenary assembly, Archbishop Diego Padrón of Cumaná slammed Maduro's administration for preventing the Church and other groups from assisting in solving the country's food crisis.

"The interests of the government are not the interests of the country," Padron said, as quoted by the Catholic News Agency.

The Roman Catholic official also said that the Venezuelan government had no "moral authority" to lead the country in this time of need.

"The ungovernability, aside from the brutal repression, the lack of serious and stabilising responses that would be more than improvisational and provisional, create the widespread perception that the global crisis is getting more acute and is being prolonged with no end in sight," he added.

He claimed that instead of creating hope, the government is creating "uncertainty, hopelessness, depression, anger and social violence."

Padron said Roman Catholic groups like Caritas Venezuela could do a lot to help alleviate the suffering being experienced by Venezuelan people now, for example by bringin in much-needed medication.

"The ability of Caritas Venezuela to pull together resources and the cooperation of private institutions – and not of government entities – makes us capable of receiving and adequately distributing the many offers we receive daily from the outside," the Archbishop said.

"This is not the ultimate solution but it would provide relief that we shouldn't be waiting for any more," he added.