Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro broke diplomatic ties Saturday with neighboring Colombia after humanitarian assistance from the U.S. and other nations made its way across the Venezuela-Colombia border.
A human chain extending from the outermost limit of Cucuta, Colombia’s largest border city, into Venezuela began carrying aid packages into the turmoil-stricken nation. As opposition supporters and regime loyalists clashed on the border, Maduro responded by expelling employees from the Colombian embassy in Caracas.
The nation is facing an economic and humanitarian crisis, as Maduro’s regime is challenged by the opposition, led by Juan Guaido. Guaido, who had been the president of the country’s national assembly, declared himself the nation’s interim president in January.
Trump administration officials Saturday expressed their support for the opposition and Guaido, whom the U.S., and much of the international community, has deemed as the legitimate, democratically elected leader in Venezuela.
National security adviser John Bolton urged members of the Venezuelan military, which has so far backed Maduro, to “protect and assist the people of Venezuela, not Maduro and a band of thieves. Choose the road of democracy.”
President Guaido is personally leading the effort to bring aid to Venezuelan people. The military has a chance to protect and assist the people of Venezuela, not Maduro and a band of thieves. Choose the road of democracy. pic.twitter.com/5dV4GELiry
— John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) February 23, 2019
A caravan of foreign aid, mostly brought from the U.S. by the United States Agency for International Development, is making its way across the Simon Bolivar International Bridge, the most-trafficked gateway on the Colombia-Venezuela border.
Maduro placed flipped-over trucks across the Venezuelan side of the bridge in an attempt to block routes into Venezuela from the foreign assistance camps in Colombia.
The move comes after three soldiers from the Venezuelan regime defected into Colombia on Saturday.
Vice President Mike Pence will arrive in Colombia on Monday to meet with Colombian President Ivan Duque Marquez. In Bogota, he will also meet Venezuelan refugees who have found sanctuary in the “coffee nation.”
To @jguaido & all the people of Venezuela taking a stand for freedom & humanitarian relief: Estamos con ustedes. We are with you. As @POTUS said: ‘The people of Venezuela are standing for freedom and democracy, and the USA is standing right by their side.’ ¡Vayan con Dios!
— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) February 23, 2019
