Venezuela aid showdown looms as Guaido attends concert on border

Venezuela's opposition and its US and Latin Americanallies on Friday threw a challenge to embattled President NicolasMaduro, vowing to bring humanitarian aid into the country despite hisopposition. "The obstacles that the dictatorship is putting will be ... rivers ofunity, of peace," Venezuela's self-appointed interim president JuanGuaido said in the Colombian border city of Cucuta.Receiving humanitarian aid "is not begging ... The people ofVenezuela are not begging, they are resisting a dictatorship," Guaidosaid. He was flanked by the presidents of Colombia, Chile and Paraguay,with whom he had earlier visited an aid collection centre from wherethousands of volunteers are due to take aid supplies across theborder on Saturday.Maduro, who has resisted pressure to resign, regards the aidoperation as a plot to stage a US military intervention and does notwant to let it through.The outcome of the stand-off may depend on the army, which isguarding the border.The military has so far sided with Maduro, but Guaido said it hadhelped him cross the border into Cucuta."The armed forces participated in this process," he said.Later Friday, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez tweeted that threebridges on the Colombian border were being temporarily closed over"serious and illegal threats" from Colombia against Venezuela.In addition to the three Latin American presidents, US PresidentDonald Trump's envoy Elliott Abrams flew to Cucuta to support the aidoperation, broadcaster Caracol reported.Abrams called on the Venezuelan army to heed the despair of its"brothers" in need of food and medicine, while Colombia's Ivan Duqueurged the military to be "on the right side of history."An estimated 320,000 people earlier attended a charity concert,hosted by British billionaire Richard Branson, which aimed at raising100 million dollars for humanitarian aid for Venezuela in 60 days.Guaido, whom dozens of countries have recognized as the country'sinterim leader, says hundreds of thousands of people are at risk dueto food and medicine shortages.Maduro's government meanwhile staged a simultaneous concert on theVenezuelan side of the border with the motto: "Nothing for the war."Venezuelan broadcaster Telesur showed images of a large crowdclapping while watching local rock singer Paul Gillman, who shoutedthat Venezuela is "the best country in the world."Maduro won a second term in an election boycotted by most of theopposition in May. He has presided over a massive economic crisis,with inflation running at millions of per cent, while more than 3million Venezuelans have fled abroad.Cucuta houses an aid collection centre storing an estimated 600 tonsof food, medicine and hygiene items donated by countries includingthe United States, Chile and Puerto Rico.Maduro had said he may close the Colombian border after alreadyclosing air and sea routes to the Dutch island of Curacao and theland border with Brazil, both of which are also acting as aid hubs.Caracas is reported to have brought troops and tanks to the Brazilianborder. Two people were killed in a clash between soldiers andindigenous people in the locality of San Francisco de Yuruani,Venezuelan opposition lawmaker Americo De Grazia tweeted on Friday.The US condemned the killings, and warned that "egregious violationof human rights by Maduro and those who are following his orders willnot go unpunished.""The Venezuelan military must allow humanitarian aid to peacefullyenter the country. The world is watching," the White House said in astatement.  The indigenous people had reportedly tried to stop the army fromblocking a road in order to prevent the arrival of humanitarian aid.Brazil meanwhile announced it had stored 200 tons of aid supplies inBoa Vista in the border state of Roraima. They were to be taken bytruck to the border town of Paracaima in a police escort on Saturday.It would then be Guaido's responsibility to handle the supplies,presidential spokesman Otavio Rego Barros said.In addition to the aid deliveries, demonstrations in favour andagainst the aid have been called for Saturday. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged Venezuela's foreignminister in a meeting on Friday to make sure authorities do not uselethal force against demonstrators, the UN chief's office said in astatement.Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza told reporters the Venezuelan military"will never have orders to fire on the civilian population" and that"they are there to defend Venezuelan territory from any armed attackagainst our country."