Venezuela’s Guaido ‘to personally bring in aid,’ risking standoff
Venezuelan opposition figure Juan Guaido says he plans to travel to the Colombian border to personally bring in what is claimed to be humanitarian aid supplied by the United States in defiance of the government in Caracas, which has banned the entry of that cargo.
Guaido, who had earlier set a February 23 “deadline” for bringing in the aid, said he would head to the border on Thursday in a caravan of buses accompanied by supporters and members of the defunct national assembly.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said US President Donald Trump seeks to facilitate regime change in Venezuela under the cover of manufacturing a humanitarian crisis there.
The 35-year-old Guaido, who has declared himself the “interim president” of Venezuela, has said the cargo would enter from various points “one way or another.” This is while the Venezuelan military — which is loyal to Maduro — has blocked potential entry points, and Guaido’s defiance risks sparking a confrontation with the legal government in the country.
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino has said the military is on alert at the country’s frontiers to block any territorial infringement.
Guaido, who claims that 300,000 Venezuelans could die without aid, said he aimed to rally a million volunteers to start bringing the cargo in by Saturday.
Trump, who has recognized Guaido as “interim president,” has warned that members of the Venezuelan military would be risking their lives by remaining loyal to Maduro and refusing to allow in the purported humanitarian aid, blocked at the Colombian border. And while the US has several times said an invasion of Venezuela remains an option, it has apparently prepared no military plans for such an invasion.
Nevertheless, the Maduro government has said it takes the prospect of an invasion seriously and has been preparing for one.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has also warned Guaido against “inviting foreign intervention” under the cover of aid shipments.
Oil-rich Venezuela has been in political turmoil since last month, when Guaido proclaimed himself “interim president.”
The US has since confiscated Venezuelan state assets in America, including a subsidiary of the Venezuelan state oil company, to channel revenue from them to Guaido.
Russia, China, Turkey, and Iran, among other countries, have urged non-interference in Venezuela’s domestic affairs.
The Western-backed opposition blames Maduro for an ailing economy, hyperinflation, power cuts, and shortages of basic items. Maduro says those economic difficulties are due to sanctions imposed by the US.
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