Bolton Cancels Visit to Oversee Venezuela Putsch
CUCUTA, Colombia/URENA, Venezuela (Dispatches) -- Venezuelan troops fired tear gas at U.S.-backed agitators unable to cross into Colombia on Saturday after President Nicolas Maduro closed the border to stop the opposition bringing U.S. "humanitarian aid” into the South American nation.
Rioters set up barricades and burned tires in the Venezuelan border town of Urena, as attention turned to whether National Guard troops stationed at the border crossing would confront the U.S. convoy.
Leaders of Venezuela’s ruling Socialist Party call the aid effort a veiled invasion backed by Washington, and insist that the United States should instead help Venezuela by lifting crippling financial and oil sector sanctions.
Political analysts say the border showdown is less about solving Venezuela's needs and more about testing the military's loyalty to Maduro by daring it to turn the "aid” away.
A possible showdown between the army and supporters of opposition leader Juan Guaido could trigger a deadly confrontation and lead to divisions among the army ranks and possible defections by some -- something which the U.S. is apparently counting on.
The scenario reminds of the wars in Syria and Libya where an initially small-scale unrest morphed into brutal conflicts which continue to this day.
U.S. troops entered the war in Syria in late 2015 under the pretext of fighting Daesh but ended up training Takfiri militants against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Demonstrators in Urena who blocked roads and burned tires also threw rocks at security forces who responded with volleys of tear gas.
Guaido, recognized by the West as Venezuela’s interim president, defied court orders not to leave the country when he traveled on Friday to Cucuta, where "aid” from the U.S. and Colombian governments is stockpiled in warehouses.
Guaido was due to hold a news conference with the presidents of Colombia, Chile and Paraguay in Cucuta on Saturday morning before escorting the U.S. package toward the border on foot.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s hawkish national security adviser John Bolton canceled plans to travel to South Korea to prepare for a summit addressing North Korea’s nuclear program in order to focus instead on events unfolding in Venezuela, his spokesman said on Friday.
Guaido, 35, head of the opposition-run Congress, has provided few details on the transport plan. Trucks are expected to be driven by Venezuelan volunteers and some opposition figures have suggested forming human chains.
Russia warned that the U.S. is using humanitarian aid to instigate a "dangerous provocation” in Venezuela by arming the country's opposition while moving its own forces closer to Venezuelan borders in preparation for a military invasion.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Washington and its allies were planning to supply Guaido and his supporters with a wide range of weapons.
"We have information that companies from the U.S. and its NATO allies are considering the possibility of buying a large batch of weapons in one of Eastern European countries in order to provide them to the Venezuelan opposition," she told the media in Moscow.
"The batch will reportedly include heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, portable missile launchers and ammunition for light weapons and artillery systems. So this is what they mean when they talk about delivering humanitarian aid," Zakharova added.
Zakharova said Friday the plan to use aid shipments as a cover allowed Washington to move special forces and military equipment "closer to Venezuelan territory” by causing tensions at the border.
Guaido's intentions to bring the supplies across the border were aimed at provoking violence, she further noted.
On Friday, deadly clashes erupted near the border with Brazil, where at least two people were killed and several others injured after trying to confront Venezuelan troops in the southern town of Kumarakapay.
Venezuelan troops were forced to open fire on a group of people who tried to block a road with the aim of preventing military vehicles from passing, according to witnesses.
Maduro blames the country’s dire situation on U.S. sanctions that have blocked the country from obtaining financing and have hobbled the OPEC nation’s oil industry.
Rioters set up barricades and burned tires in the Venezuelan border town of Urena, as attention turned to whether National Guard troops stationed at the border crossing would confront the U.S. convoy.
Leaders of Venezuela’s ruling Socialist Party call the aid effort a veiled invasion backed by Washington, and insist that the United States should instead help Venezuela by lifting crippling financial and oil sector sanctions.
Political analysts say the border showdown is less about solving Venezuela's needs and more about testing the military's loyalty to Maduro by daring it to turn the "aid” away.
A possible showdown between the army and supporters of opposition leader Juan Guaido could trigger a deadly confrontation and lead to divisions among the army ranks and possible defections by some -- something which the U.S. is apparently counting on.
The scenario reminds of the wars in Syria and Libya where an initially small-scale unrest morphed into brutal conflicts which continue to this day.
U.S. troops entered the war in Syria in late 2015 under the pretext of fighting Daesh but ended up training Takfiri militants against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Demonstrators in Urena who blocked roads and burned tires also threw rocks at security forces who responded with volleys of tear gas.
Guaido, recognized by the West as Venezuela’s interim president, defied court orders not to leave the country when he traveled on Friday to Cucuta, where "aid” from the U.S. and Colombian governments is stockpiled in warehouses.
Guaido was due to hold a news conference with the presidents of Colombia, Chile and Paraguay in Cucuta on Saturday morning before escorting the U.S. package toward the border on foot.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s hawkish national security adviser John Bolton canceled plans to travel to South Korea to prepare for a summit addressing North Korea’s nuclear program in order to focus instead on events unfolding in Venezuela, his spokesman said on Friday.
Guaido, 35, head of the opposition-run Congress, has provided few details on the transport plan. Trucks are expected to be driven by Venezuelan volunteers and some opposition figures have suggested forming human chains.
Russia warned that the U.S. is using humanitarian aid to instigate a "dangerous provocation” in Venezuela by arming the country's opposition while moving its own forces closer to Venezuelan borders in preparation for a military invasion.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Washington and its allies were planning to supply Guaido and his supporters with a wide range of weapons.
"We have information that companies from the U.S. and its NATO allies are considering the possibility of buying a large batch of weapons in one of Eastern European countries in order to provide them to the Venezuelan opposition," she told the media in Moscow.
"The batch will reportedly include heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, portable missile launchers and ammunition for light weapons and artillery systems. So this is what they mean when they talk about delivering humanitarian aid," Zakharova added.
Zakharova said Friday the plan to use aid shipments as a cover allowed Washington to move special forces and military equipment "closer to Venezuelan territory” by causing tensions at the border.
Guaido's intentions to bring the supplies across the border were aimed at provoking violence, she further noted.
On Friday, deadly clashes erupted near the border with Brazil, where at least two people were killed and several others injured after trying to confront Venezuelan troops in the southern town of Kumarakapay.
Venezuelan troops were forced to open fire on a group of people who tried to block a road with the aim of preventing military vehicles from passing, according to witnesses.
Maduro blames the country’s dire situation on U.S. sanctions that have blocked the country from obtaining financing and have hobbled the OPEC nation’s oil industry.