Venezuela : Concerts, confrontation, border closures and deaths
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At least two people have been killed and several others injured in clashes near Venezuela’s border with Brazil, local media report.
Venezuelan security forces opened fire on a group of civilians who tried to prevent them from blocking the border.
President Nicolás Maduro has closed the country’s border with Brazil amid a row over the delivery of humanitarian aid.
The incident came as thousands attended two rival concerts on either side of a bridge linking Venezuela and Colombia. Opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who declared himself interim leader last month, attended the Colombian concert along with several Latin American leaders.
The clashes occurred when members of the community confronted Venezuelan troops on Friday morning in the southern Venezuelan town of Kumarakapay, AFP news agency reports.
Venezuela’s opposition and activists prepared on Saturday to confront troops stationed along the country’s borders to block their plan to bring in food and medicine that authorities are calling a veiled U.S.-backed invasion.
Reuters report that Opposition volunteers in neighbouring Brazil and Colombia plan to arrive at the border to help carry humanitarian aid to a sick and hungry population suffering from an economic meltdown under President Nicolas Maduro.
While the need for basic food and medicines is real, the effort is also meant to embarrass military officers who continue to support Maduro’s increasingly isolated government.
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BBC reports that “Venezuela has said that its border with Colombia has been partially closed, shortly after opposition leader Juan Guaidó defied a travel ban to cross it.
Vice President Delcy Rodriguez tweeted to say the “total, temporary closure” was due to serious threats against the country’s sovereignty and security.
Tensions have been rising over a row about the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Two people were killed by Venezuelan security forces on Saturday near the border with Brazil.
The violence was condemned by the United States government, which said in a statement: “The Venezuelan military must allow humanitarian aid to peacefully enter the country. The world is watching.”
