![\"\"](\"http:\/\/en.bornomalanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/103208Venezuelas-Guaido-says-thousands-of-supporters-ready-to-bring-in-US-aid-300x194.jpg\")
International desk: Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Saturday said he was mobilizing thousands of volunteers to help bring American aid into the country next week as President Nicolas Maduro vowed to strengthen border security and block what he called a US invasion.<\/p>\n
Guaido\u2019s announcement came as tons of US food aid was piling up along the border with Colombia, in the latest flashpoint in the country\u2019s building political crisis.<\/p>\n
Guaido, whose claim to be interim president now has the support of more than 50 countries, told his rally that 600,000 people had registered to help bring desperately needed aid in through different border points.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot only will this be happening at the border where the volunteer movement will be, but in cities up and down the country where there will be
\ndemonstrations on February 23 for the aid to come in,\u201d the National Assembly leader told thousands of supporters, many in white T-shirts and hats in the colors of the Venezuelan flag.<\/p>\n
In addition to the aid arriving in Colombia, Guaido said, more would be coming through Brazil and the Caribbean island of Curacao.<\/p>\n
Several tons of US aid have already arrived in the Colombian border town of Cucuta. The US Army plans to deliver an additional 200 tons in coming days, a Pentagon official said Friday, speaking on grounds of anonymity.<\/p>\n
Guaido repeated his call on Venezuela\u2019s military \u2014 whose support for Maduro has been crucial in the growing crisis \u2014 to stand aside and let the
\naid pass.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have, in your hands, the possibility of fighting alongside the people who are suffering the same shortages you are,\u201d Guaido said in a tweet
\naddressed to soldiers.<\/p>\n
\u2013 \u2018Crumbs\u2019 and \u2018rotten food\u2019 \u2013 But Maduro, who asserts that aid could be used as a cover for a US invasion, called for reinforced border security. He dismissed the arriving aid as \u201ccrumbs\u201d and \u201crotten and contaminated food.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Friday he instructed his army to prepare a \u201cspecial deployment plan\u201d for the 2,200-kilometer (1,370-mile) border with Colombia. He said he would examine \u201cwhat new forces\u201d might be needed to keep the frontier \u201cinviolable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maduro claimed that US President Donald Trump and Colombian counterpart Ivan Duque had worked out \u201cwar plans against Venezuela\u201d when they met Wednesday in Washington.<\/p>\n
Duque on Friday told Guaido he would help ensure that humanitarian aid reaches Venezuela. Venezuela and its neighbors have been shaken by the power struggle between socialist leader Maduro and Guaido, who proclaimed himself interim president last month.<\/p>\n
A grave economic crisis has left millions in the once-wealthy country living in poverty, facing shortages of basic necessities such as food and
\nmedicine.<\/p>\n
Some 2.3 million Venezuelans have fled the country since 2015 as a result, according to the United Nations.<\/p>\n
Maduro, the hand-picked successor to socialist firebrand Hugo Chavez, meanwhile blames Venezuela\u2019s woes on US sanctions.<\/p>\n
\u2013 \u2018All options\u2019 \u2013<\/strong><\/p>\n Maduro said on Friday that six million families had benefited from subsidized food boxes and he claimed to have bought 933 tons of medicines and medical supplies from China, Cuba and Russia, his main international allies.<\/p>\n \u201cWe paid for it with our own money because we\u2019re beggars to no one,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Guaido accuses Maduro of being a \u201cusurper\u201d over his controversial reelection last year in polls widely branded as fraudulent.<\/p>\n Maduro meanwhile says the 35-year-old National Assembly speaker is a puppet to the US, which he claims is trying to secure access to Venezuela\u2019s gold and vast oil reserves \u2014 the largest in the world.<\/p>\n Trump this week repeated his warning to Maduro that \u201call options\u201d are on the table, including military.<\/p>\n On Friday the US Treasury announced that it was imposing sanctions on five intelligence and security officials close to Maduro.<\/p>\n US Vice President Mike Pence on Saturday called for the European Union to recognize Guaido\u2019s claim to the presidency.<\/p>\n Some 30 European countries have already recognized the former engineer as Venezuela\u2019s leader, but holdouts include Italy and Greece.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" International desk: Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Saturday said he was mobilizing thousands of volunteers to help bring American aid into the country next week as President Nicolas Maduro vowed to strengthen border security and block what he called a US invasion. Guaido\u2019s announcement came as tons of US food aid was piling up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":52714,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2,14],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n