MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The crisis in Venezuela seems to be escalating by the minute.

From an internationally known US journalist being held in Venezuela to US Sen. Bernie Sanders stopping short of calling Nicolas Maduro a dictator to US planes flying near the country, and interim president Juan Guaidó’s impending return to Caracas.

On Monday afternoon, Univision’s news anchor Jorge Ramos and his crew were detained at the Presidential Palace of Miraflores and his equipment, along with their phones were confiscated. They were held for a couple of hours and at one point were kept in a dark room, according to Ramos.

Ramos said Maduro did not like the questions he was being asked and decided to abruptly stop the interview 17 minutes after it started.

The journalist and his crew are being expelled from Venezuela on Tuesday.

The news broke just as 2020 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders refused to call Nicolas Maduro a “dictator,” during a CNN town hall, saying “there are still democratic operations taking place” in the country.

Meanwhile, off the Venezuelan coast, there has been an increased number of US military reconnaissance flights in international airspace during the last several days to gather classified intelligence about Maduro, according to two US defense officials.

On Tuesday, the interim president of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, said he would be returning to his country from Colombia this week despite threats that exist against his physical integrity, according to the Lima Group of nations.

“The fear that we have today in Venezuela, extrapolating the matter, is that if my 21-month-old daughter gets sick, hospitals do not have any antibiotics. There are risks for exercising politics in the country, they have killed volunteers who tried to enter humanitarian aid to the national territory, but we will return this week,” said Guaidó during a press conference.

The Lima Group, a regional body that seeks a political solution to the Venezuelan situation, said that Guaidó and his family’s lives are at risk upon returning to Venezuela, and Maduro would be held directly responsible if anything should happen to them.

“Any violent action against Guaidó would lead to an international situation that would force a collective response,” said Carlos Holmes Trujillo, Colombia’s foreign minister.

Over the weekend, violence broke out when the Venezuelan military blocked aid convoys at the country’s border.

In the state of Tachira, along the border with Colombia, more than 300 people were hurt in clashes that involved firearms, said the Venezuelan government’s special envoy for Tachira state, Freddy Bernal.

He said the attacks were conducted by irregular groups backed by Maduro’s government on the international bridges along the border between Venezuela and Colombia — the Simon Bolivar bridge in San Antonio and the Francisco de Paula Santander bridge in Ureña.

“We registered no deaths despite the violent attacks for more than 15 hours of battle” by groups on the international bridges fighting “against thousands of patriots who fought and defended themselves,” he said. CNN has not independently verified the numbers of the injured in these clashes.

On Saturday, Maduro and his wife danced on stage while trucks full of humanitarian aid were being burned by Maduro’s forces.

Maduro was holding a rally attended by hundreds of his military, militia, Cuban agents and those who are forced to attend or lose their public sector jobs.
• 274 service personnel from different branches of the Venezuelan armed forces have defected to Colombia, Migración Colombia, Colombia’s immigration agency, said in a statement Monday evening. Members of the national police, national guard, army and navy are among the defections, the statement said.
• The US Treasury Department imposed new sanctions against four Venezuelan governors aligned with Maduro, effectively freezing their assets in the United States. The sanctions were imposed on these governors: Omar Prieto of Zulia, Rafael Lacava of Carabobo, Ramon Carrizalez of Apure and Jorge Garcia Carneiro of Vargas.
• More than 150 Venezuelan security forces have defected to Colombia in the last 48 hours, according to Colombia’s customs agency, Migration Colombia. Immigration officials said 146 Venezuelan forces entered through the department Norte de Santander and 10 entered through Arauca.
• The Brazilian president’s office said two trucks carrying humanitarian aid that had crossed into Venezuelan territory from Brazil turned back around on Sunday. Citing “the impossibility of continuing into Venezuelan territory as planned,” the vehicles returned to the Pacaraima area of Brazil, a news release said.
• The US Federal Aviation Administration has issued a warning to US pilots about flying into and out of Venezuela because of “continued political instability and increasing tensions.”
• The United States requested that the UN Security Council to discuss Venezuela on Tuesday.
• UN Secretary General António Guterres has called for the end of violence in the Venezuelan conflict, his spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric said Monday. “It’s very important for him that in no circumstances lethal force should be used against demonstrators,” Dujarric said.</s>Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on Wednesday tweeted a 40-minute-long livestream on Periscope about the government's carnival preparations as the country further spirals into crisis.

Carnival — or "Carnaval" as known in Venezuela — is a big celebration celebrated before Lent every year, in which people dress up in costumes, dance, and attend parades with floats.

Maduro's video came after a weekend of violent clashes when state forces barred activists from bringing in aid through the Colombian and Brazilian borders.

Venezuelan demonstrators throw stones during clashes with authorities at the border between Brazil and Venezuela on February 23, 2019. Associated Press

Police fired tear gas and pellets on protesters, killing at least two and injuring at least 300, The Associated Press (AP) reported. More than 300 Venezuelan soldiers defected and fled to Colombia after the unrest, the AP added.

Read more: Photos show chaos in Venezuela as protesters and soldiers clash over humanitarian aid shipments

But in his lengthy stream, Maduro primarily focused on his plans for a "safe carnival" in 2019. The video showed Venezuelans in costumes dancing and celebrating, as the president calls on ministers, governors and mayors to explain how the government will ensure smooth festivities.

Maduro then mused about cute children in costuems before announcing that he will also dress up and join the celebration.

The leader is often criticized for organizing big celebrations and performances, like salsa dancing, as a distraction from the humanitarian and economic crisis plaguing the nation.

Read more: Venezuela's president ate steak at Salt Bae's restaurant while people in his country are starving

Last Saturday he was slammed for dancing at a concert while government forces blocked the entry of food and medicine at the borders.

Maduro addressed his critics in his Wednesday livestream, saying: "The imperialists were mad that I was dancing. We [Venezuelans] always dance because we are a happy people and this is a revolution of joy."

The video also showed images of pro-government rallies, with Maduro saying that the majority of Venezuelans oppose international intervention.

Maduro and his allies around the world — like Russia, China, and Syria — have opposed foreign support for his opponent Juan Guaidó, who declared himself Venezuela's interim government last month.

Maduro also mocked Guaidó's slogan while discussing Carnaval plans. "We are making progress," he said, adding Guaidó's slogan: "Vamos bien."

Venezuelan "interim president" Juan Guaidó speaks in a warehouse where humanitarian aid for Venezuela has been collected in Cucuta, Colombia, on February 23, 2019. Luisa Gonzalez/Reuters

Guaidó is currently exiled in Colombia, and has met with US Vice President Mike Pence and the Lima Group, a regional bloc established to end the Venezuelan crisis.

Guaidó told his supporters via video on Tuesday that he is currently planning his return to the Venezuelan capital of Caracas to mobilize his supporters. The exact date of his arrival and next steps will be made public in the coming days, he added.

He said he refuses "this compromise of having to fight from abroad," referring to Colombia, and said that Maduro is "alone and desperate."

Guaidó also posted an audio message, urging his supporters to keep mobilizing and and announcing unspecified actions to garner support from military and government workers.

Though military leaders in Venezuela publicly backed Maduro last month, Guaidó has claimed that he had met some members of the military in secret.</s>Vice President Mike Pence on Monday called on other countries to step up sanctions on Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, including freezing his access to oil funds, while announcing an increase in U.S. economic pressure aimed at ousting the autocrat.

Pence also said “all options are on the table,” a nod to the idea that America could use military force against the Maduro regime. That remark came after an aide to Venezuela’s opposition leader said he would ask international leaders to use “force” against the Caracas regime and after regime supporters and critics engaged in deadly clashes over the weekend.

“To the leaders around the world, we also say it’s time — there can be no bystanders in Venezuela’s struggle for freedom,” Pence said in a speech in Bogota, Colombia. “The day is coming soon when Venezuela’s long nightmare will end and Venezuela will once more be free.”

Pence was speaking at a gathering of mainly Latin American leaders called the Lima Group. His speech came days after Maduro’s forces tried to block food and medical aid from entering the country at border points, battling with anti-Maduro demonstrators. At least four people died and hundreds were injured, according to the United Nations.

But despite Pence’s claims that it is “time” for the “tyrant” in Caracas to go, the situation in Venezuela remains a standoff for now. Maduro retains the loyalty of much of the country’s military, even as millions of Venezuelans face starvation.

Fernando Cutz, a former National Security Council official and Latin America expert, warned that the time for a non-violent solution could run short. "As the humanitarian crisis worsens and Maduro's authoritarian tendencies deepen, it's understandable that the people of Venezuela would grow more desperate," he said. "Every passing day makes a peaceful resolution less likely."

In January, President Donald Trump and many other world leaders recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the legitimate leader of the country after he declared himself “interim president.” Pence met with Guaidó in Colombia ahead of his speech Monday.

A day earlier, a Guaidó spokesman tweeted that the opposition leader would ask the U.S. and others to raise pressure on Maduro, including through the use of force. But in the public portion of their meeting, neither Pence nor Guaidó mentioned military action, and Pence did not explicitly endorse the idea in his speech.

Publicly, Trump and his aides do not rule out using military force in Venezuela. Privately, however, U.S. officials downplay the idea of such a move — at least on America’s part. It could come down to what level of force would be desired — from a minimal amount to push through the humanitarian aid, to taking whatever action is necessary to remove Maduro.

Venezuela’s economy has fallen apart in recent years, and many people in the country are struggling to find food and medicine, while more than 3 million have fled to neighboring states. But Maduro denies there is a crisis and views the humanitarian aid as part of a coup plot.

Pence announced in his speech that the U.S. will be giving nearly $56 million in more humanitarian aid to support neighboring countries dealing with Venezuelan refugees. With that new funding, the U.S. has offered over $195 million in aid to Venezuelans since fiscal 2017, according to the State Department.

The Trump administration on Monday also said it was imposing sanctions on four Venezuelan governors aligned with Maduro, including some who have been involving in blocking the aid.

Pence called on other countries to take similar steps, including intensifying efforts to block the Maduro government’s access to finances, transferring ownership of the assets of Maduro and his aides’ to Guaidó’s government and imposing visa restrictions on Maduro allies.

Pence also called on other nations to follow America’s lead and impose sanctions on PDVSA, the Venezuelan state oil giant; an international freeze on PDVSA’s assets could be a major blow to Maduro’s government and his ability to control the country.

“In the days ahead, the United States will announce even stronger sanctions on the regime’s corrupt financial networks,” Pence promised.

Earlier Monday, Guaidó requested that the international community continue its humanitarian support. Pence said the weekend’s events had only strengthened American resolve to help the Venezuelan people.

The U.S. vice president, a devout Christian, assured Venezuelans that God was with them.

“We say from our hearts that the freedom loving people of Venezuela, know that you do not go alone,” he said. “You go with the support and the prayers of the American people.

“We will go with you," he added. "You go with God. Vayan con Dios.”</s>Brasilia Juan Guaidó, Venezuela’s opposition leader, will visit Brazil to meet President Bolsonaro. The country, like dozens of others, has recognised Mr Guaidó as the interim president of Venezuela, increasing pressure on President Maduro. Mr Guaidó’s visit is believed to be the first stop on a trip to several Latin American nations to discuss the crisis. Despite a ban on him leaving Venezuela he was in Colombia on Saturday to try to bring US aid into his country, which resulted in clashes with forces acting on Mr Maduro’s orders. Mr Guaidó has promised to return. (Reuters)

Suspected Russian spy arrested in Sweden

Stockholm A suspected Russian spy working under diplomatic cover in a high-tech industry has been arrested in Stockholm, Sweden’s security police said. Daniel…</s>Guaido, the man who need the US to be president

US puppet Juan Guaidó can face up to 30 years in prison for betraying Venezuela

CARACAS, Venezuela – Opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who has declared himself interim president of Venezuela with the support of the United States, may face up to 30 years in prison for violating a travel ban.

Venezuelan Supreme Court Justice Juan Carlos Valdez said on Tuesday that Guaido’s visit to Colombia on February 22 violated the travel ban imposed by the Venezuelan judiciary.

“He is a person who hides from justice, what happens to the fugitives who are returning to the country and are found by the authorities? They must be captured and sent to prison,” Valdez said, adding that “he may face up to 30 years in prison.”

State prosecutors are currently examining Guiadó’s conduct regarding possible crimes, the judge added.

The opposition leader traveled to Colombia on Friday, allegedly to lead a “human wave” across the border and force border guards and military personnel to allow “humanitarian aid” provided by the United States. However, as soon as the aid did not enter, Guaidó was not seen anywhere, while his followers became involved in clashes with the security forces.

Later, the self-proclaimed president traveled to the Colombian capital of Bogota, where he participated in the Lima Group’s Monday meeting, supporting the US attempt to force re-elected Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to resign.

During the UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Venezuela, US special envoy Elliott Abrams announced that more sanctions will be applied against Caracas later this week.

“We have said that sanctions will continue, we announced sanctions yesterday,” Abrams said. “There will be more, there will be more this week, there will be more next week. We’ll continue to impose sanctions on high-ranking members of the regime and people who handle their financial affairs.”

Guaidó told Colombian broadcaster NTN24 that he intends to return to Venezuela despite the risk of being arrested.</s>
• Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro recorded a lengthy livestream on Wednesday, talking about the state’s carnival plans and showing Venezuelans celebrating.
• It came four days after at least two people died and at least 300 more were injured in violent clashes over the government’s refusal to let in humanitarian aid.
• Meanwhile, self-declared interim president Juan Guaidó is planning to end his exile in Colombia, and mobilizing protests in Venezuela.

Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on Wednesday tweeted a 40-minute-long livestream on Periscope about the government’s carnival preparations as the country further spirals into crisis.

Carnival – or “Carnaval” as known in Venezuela – is a big celebration celebrated before Lent every year, in which people dress up in costumes, dance, and attend parades with floats.

Maduro’s video came after a weekend of violent clashes when state forces barred activists from bringing in aid through the Colombian and Brazilian borders.

Police fired tear gas and pellets on protesters, killing at least two and injuring at least 300, The Associated Press (AP) reported. More than 300 Venezuelan soldiers defected and fled to Colombia after the unrest, the AP added.

Read more: Photos show chaos in Venezuela as protesters and soldiers clash over humanitarian aid shipments

But in his lengthy stream, Maduro primarily focused on his plans for a “safe carnival” in 2019. The video showed Venezuelans in costumes dancing and celebrating, as the president calls on ministers, governors and mayors to explain how the government will ensure smooth festivities.

Maduro then mused about cute children in costuems before announcing that he will also dress up and join the celebration.

The leader is often criticized for organizing big celebrations and performances, like salsa dancing, as a distraction from the humanitarian and economic crisis plaguing the nation.

Read more: Venezuela’s president ate steak at Salt Bae’s restaurant while people in his country are starving

Last Saturday he was slammed for dancing at a concert while government forces blocked the entry of food and medicine at the borders.

Maduro addressed his critics in his Wednesday livestream, saying: “The imperialists were mad that I was dancing. We [Venezuelans] always dance because we are a happy people and this is a revolution of joy.”

The video also showed images of pro-government rallies, with Maduro saying that the majority of Venezuelans oppose international intervention.

Maduro and his allies around the world – like Russia, China, and Syria – have opposed foreign support for his opponent Juan Guaidó, who declared himself Venezuela’s interim government last month.

Maduro also mocked Guaidó’s slogan while discussing Carnaval plans. “We are making progress,” he said, adding Guaidó’s slogan: “Vamos bien.”

Guaidó is currently exiled in Colombia, and has met with US Vice President Mike Pence and the Lima Group, a regional bloc established to end the Venezuelan crisis.

Guaidó told his supporters via video on Tuesday that he is currently planning his return to the Venezuelan capital of Caracas to mobilize his supporters. The exact date of his arrival and next steps will be made public in the coming days, he added.

He said he refuses “this compromise of having to fight from abroad,” referring to Colombia, and said that Maduro is “alone and desperate.”

Guaidó also posted an audio message, urging his supporters to keep mobilizing and and announcing unspecified actions to garner support from military and government workers.

Though military leaders in Venezuela publicly backed Maduro last month, Guaidó has claimed that he had met some members of the military in secret.</s>(CNN) Venezuela's self-declared interim president Juan Guaido says he will exercise his "duties as president" as soon as he returns to Venezuela from Colombia where he met Monday with US Vice President Mike Pence.

In a message posted to Twitter, Guaido said he will provide "an audio with the next instructions."

"I ask you to massively spread our message," he wrote on Twitter. "Nothing will stop us."

Guaido, the head of Venezuela's opposition-led legislature, declared himself acting president of Venezuela in January and is battling President Nicolas Maduro for control of the country.

Guaido met with Pence and Colombian President Ivan Duque this week in Bogota, Colombia, where a meeting of the Lima Group -- a diplomatic body created to help mitigate the Venezuelan crisis -- was taking place.

The meeting followed a weekend of violent clashes in Venezuela, where the military has blocked aid convoys from entering the country.

Guaido has called for other nations to send aid to Venezuela in response to worsening food and medicine shortages. But Maduro -- who won re-election in a widely-criticized vote last year -- denies that a humanitarian crisis exists in the country and suggests that aid efforts are part of a US plot to orchestrate a coup.

Guaido told CNN he believes there's a chance he could be arrested upon his return.

"The exercise of politics in Venezuela is criminalized, not only towards me," he said. "Today there are 1,000 political prisoners in Venezuela, there are political assassinations."

But an attack on him, Guaido said, could backfire for the current administration.

"Venezuela is mobilized towards change and arresting someone (does) not calm the protest. On the contrary, it speeds it up and makes it grow."

A weekend of violent clashes

Nearly 300 people were injured and 37 hospitalized, as military members fired tear gas and sprayed rubber bullets into a crowd of protesters at Venezuela's border with Colombia over the weekend.

National Assembly Representative and Guaido supporter Adriana Pichardo told CNN that at least five people were also killed in clashes with Venezuelan security forces.

CNN could not independently confirm the number of fatalities, but Michelle Bachelet, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said there were four deaths and 300 injuries Friday and Saturday.

Pence on Monday said the US will impose additional sanctions on Venezuelan leaders and pledged more aid to the region as he called on nations to do more to confront Maduro's government.

Following the Lima Group meeting Monday, Duque said the way to deal with the Venezuela crisis is through diplomacy -- not war. In a tweet Tuesday, he said the meeting, showed "an emphasis on diplomacy and no warmongering speech is being made."

"Under no circumstances (has) the term military force been used," he said. "This dispels voices which point out that what is sought are winds of war."

US Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams said Tuesday, following the UN Security Council meeting, that he believes there will soon be a UN resolution regarding Venezuela.

"I think we will have a resolution this week, which will certainly call for the admission of humanitarian aid into Venezuela and will comment on the events of the last few days," he said.

He also said US sanctions against officials of the Maduro regime will continue.

"We announced some sanctions yesterday. There will be more," Abrams said. "There will be more this week, there will be more next week. We will continue to impose sanctions on high-ranking members of the regime and people who handle their financial affairs."

During a meeting with Venezuelan migrant families in Bogota, Pence said the US will continue to provide assistance to the families and will stand with Guaido.

"We are with you, and we will stay with you until your libertad is restored," he said, according to remarks provided by the White House. "Have faith that, under President Donald Trump's leadership, the United States of America and freedom-loving nations around the world will stand with you."

Venezuelan, Russian UN ambassadors denounce US

Maduro's regime has already denounced the US for its delivery of aid and support of Guaido. Last week, Maduro announced he was cutting all ties with Colombia and ordered all ambassadors to leave the country, and threatened the US.

Jorge Arreaza, Minister of the People's Power for Foreign Affairs in Venezuela called the violence on the border a failed "coup" and denounced the US government for "organizing, financing, and leading this clear aggression against Venezuela."

He said the US intervention is an overreach and said solutions to the problems the country is facing should come from within. He also accused Trump of hypocrisy, asking how the US would respond if other countries tried to force aid through the southern US border.

"Mr. Trump declared a humanitarian crisis in the south of the United States because he wants to build a racist wall," Arreaza said. "So what would happen if Cuba, Venezuela, or Nicaragua were to come up with a convoy to try to force through the southern border to get to the population of the south of the United States for this humanitarian emergency, saying that was a humanitarian assistance effort?"

"What would happen if they were to try to do that? Ask yourself that question. There is a lot of hypocrisy afoot here," Arreaza said.

Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said the attempted aid delivery over the weekend was like an "illegal state border crossing" that amounted to a "forced feeding."

"What took place on Saturday was reminiscent not of assistance, but what is called forced feeding in the United States," he said. "For the uninitiate, this is a form of torture, apparently having trained on their detainees on Guantanamo, the US authorities now decided to force feed a whole country."</s>SAO PAULO, Brazil — Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó visited Brazil on Thursday as he prepared for one of the most momentous decisions of his career — how to return to his country without being arrested and risking the collapse of his campaign to oust the government.

Guaidó, whose claim on the Venezuelan presidency has been recognized by the United States and more than 50 other nations, traveled to Colombia last Friday, defying a court order prohibiting him from leaving the country. Opposition leaders had hoped that day would be a turning point in Venezuela’s political crisis, with the military forced to allow in tons of international humanitarian aid stationed at the borders. Instead, the armed forces largely stayed loyal to President Nicolás Maduro.

Maduro has suggested that Guaidó will be arrested if he returns to Venezuela. “He will have to face justice, and justice prohibited him from leaving the country,” he said in an interview with ABC News aired on Wednesday.

Guaidó said this week that he is determined to reenter Venezuela, although he hasn’t said when or how, setting up a showdown with the leftist, authoritarian leader.

“You should know that I didn’t assume this responsibility to carry it out in a place other than Venezuela,” Guaidó said in a video posted Wednesday on his Twitter account. “So I will see you in Caracas very soon.”

Guaidó ’s visit to Brazil comes as the Venezuelan opposition is at a crossroads. In the weeks after Guaidó declared himself president on Jan. 23, citing massive fraud in Maduro’s reelection, the former National Assembly president appeared to steadily gain momentum in his bid to replace Maduro. Scores of countries recognized him as the Venezuelan leader, and the Trump administration announced crippling sanctions on Venezuelan oil exports, the economic lifeblood of the South American country.

But the opposition’s inability to crack the military’s support for Maduro — vividly demonstrated on Saturday — has left them struggling to find a way forward.

On Thursday, Guaidó met with President Jair Bolsonaro, who has been a strong supporter. Guaidó had floated the idea of international military intervention in recent days, but the idea has not been embraced by Brazil, the United States or other allies. Guaidó did not receive the ceremonial pomp that is usual for a visit by a head of state.

If Guaidó returns home only to be arrested, the opposition’s campaign — which has brought thousands of Venezuelans into the streets in recent weeks — could be stopped in its tracks. But if he remains abroad, the effort could also falter.

Antonio Ledezma, an exiled opposition leader who is helping to formulate Guaidó ’s strategy, said that his approach would be to continue building bridges with military leaders and organizing demonstrations. Maduro also faced a dilemma, he said.

“If Maduro stops him [Guaidó ], detains him or doesn't let him in, he will have to attend to the domestic and international consequences,” he said in a telephone interview from Madrid. But if Maduro allows Guaidó back, “what is he going to tell his base after voicing so many threats? It’s a lose-lose.”

“The possibility of a government in exile is something we have discussed but it's a chapter we closed because Guaidó has been clear that a government in exile is not what he is envisioning,” he said.

Venezuela has sealed off border crossings with its neighboring countries, and broke relations with Colombia after last weekend’s international-aid effort.

On Thursday, Colombia released images of Venezuelan bulldozers pouring dirt into shipping containers that Venezuelan authorities had used to block one border bridge. Additional barricades appeared on other bridges, including one where two burned-out trucks remained. They were destroyed while trying to carry aid across the border during explosive protests last Saturday.

The blocked border hasn’t stopped the exodus of Venezuelans from a country suffering a severe economic breakdown.

“Everyone just goes through the trochas,” said Luisiris Moren, a 22-year-old Venezuelan as she hiked a highway into Colombia with her husband, two small children and several suitcases, referring to the hundreds of illicit paths that cross the border here.

After she and her family from the Venezuelan city of Valencia arrived by bus Wednesday evening in San Antonio, on the border, they followed a stream of people down a dirt path and crossed a shallow river into Colombian territory.

The huge flow of people that once crossed these bridges daily has been diverted to a multitude of unofficial paths, challenging Colombia’s efforts to document the thousands of Venezuelans who migrate each day.

Christian Kruger, director of Colombia’s migration authority, said in an interview that in the days before the border closure, Colombian authorities tallied about 40,000 people crossing into Colombia each day and 35,000 crossing out, suggesting that 5,000 people each day stay in Colombia. With the official border crossings closed, there will be no good way to tally the migration.

Krygier and Sheridan reported from Caracas. Dylan Baddour contributed to this report from Cúcuta, Colombia.

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Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news</s>© 2019 Bloomberg Finance LP

Don’t blame the Russians for Nicolas Maduro’s perseverance in Venezuela.

Venezuela’s National Assembly president and opposition leader Juan Guaido said he did not see any signs of “broad support” from Russia in propping up strongman Maduro, he told Russian daily Novaya Gazeta on Tuesday.

“There have been no new loans, no major investments. Just public statements,” he said. “I do not see broad support for Maduro. I believe that there is respectful participation of Russia in regards to watching the fate of our country, but the same goes for other countries that are paying attention here,” he told the paper.

Russia has been a big investor in Venezuelan oil and gas. It has failed to save PdVSA from defaulting on all of its bond issues except the 2020 bond. Rosneft, a Russian state-controlled oil company, has provided some debt relief to Maduro’s government by taking an equity stake in Citgo, the refinery and gasoline station owned by PdVSA in the United States.

China has also provided financial aid in return for payments in crude oil.

Despite support by two of the largest emerging markets in the world, Venezuela’s oil production has continued to deteriorate. The situation will get worse seeing how Washington slapped PdVSA with sanctions two weeks ago. After April 28, PdVSA will be banned from selling crude oil to the U.S. Current sales cannot be repatriated back to Venezuela. Revenues from crude oil sales to American buyers has to be kept in blocked PdVSA accounts in the U.S. due to sanctions. Washington said sanctions on Venezuelan crude, the leading source of income for the government, will only be lifted in the event of new elections. Washington considers Guaido president of Venezuela. Some 50 other countries have also thrown their support behind Guaido instead of Maduro.

According to Guaido, Maduro has failed to protect foreign investors in Venezuela.

Venezuela has been a Russian money pit for the last three years.

Guaido has gone on the record in the past saying that an eventual new government would honor its obligations to Russians.

While Vladimir Putin has been mum on this past weekend’s humanitarian delivery disaster, higher level Russian diplomats are not mincing words on the matter. To them, the official view from the Kremlin is that Venezuela is the victim of another Washington-provoked regime change.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov reportedly said in the Kommersant business daily during a meeting with his Venezuelan counterpart Ivan Gil that Moscow would “do everything” to support the “legitimate government” of President Maduro.

Russians have sent private military contractors into Caracas to work as security for the Socialists United leader. But it seems pretty clear to most that the real muscle surrounding Maduro comes from Havana. Maduro is a Cuba loyalist, having been indoctrinated into Castro anti-Americanism in the 1980s.

Maduro was sworn into a second six-year term on January 10. Despite claims of illegitimacy, starting with a group of Catholic Bishops in Venezuela and then by the Organization of American States, Maduro insisted he would not leave office until his term ended in 2025.

Maduro’s Supreme Court stripped the National Assembly, of which Guaido is now president, of its legislative powers in 2017, thus ending Venezuela’s decades-old tradition of democratic checks and balances. A Constituents Assembly was set up of mostly Socialists United supporters. The Socialists United are the largest party in the National Assembly, but opposition parties have more seats.

Venezuela is currently experiencing its worse political, economic and humanitarian crisis in a generation. The economy will contract for the third straight year.

Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations said that the main purpose of the U.S. push for humanitarian aid deliveries last weekend was to provoke Maduro.

“We would like to warn against thoughtless steps to implement a military scenario in Venezuela," he said during a UN Security Council meeting this week, according to Russian newswire Interfax.

He said Washington should “unblock the accounts of PdVSA.” Nebenzya estimated that the damage to the country's economy from sanctions is estimated at $345 billion.

“Washington and London recently robbed the Venezuelan people for a total of $30 billion in oil and banking assets," he said. "Let’s call a spade a spade: We are blatantly robbing a sovereign country, trying to bring it to poverty.”

Harsher sanctions were only put in place this year. Venezuela’s economy was crumbling for at least two years prior to Washington’s sanctions policy.</s>Venezuelan authorities have blockaded a second bridge to Colombia amid fresh skirmishes between protesters and security forces loyal to embattled leader Nicolás Maduro.

The move came as opposition leader Juan Guaidó travelled to Brazil to shore up international pressure on Maduro following an inconclusive meeting of regional leaders in Colombia earlier this week.

Early on Wednesday, two shipping containers were positioned across the Simón Bolívar bridge, a major pedestrian crossing between the two countries, following days of sporadic violence.

The bridge was the focus of a failed weekend attempt to bring US food aid into the country as part of opposition leader Juan Guaidó’s campaign campaign to force Maduro from power.

Dozens were injured on Saturday as anti-government protestors clashed with Venezuela’s national guard and pro-Maduro gangs at the bridge and another crossing near near the Colombian city Cúcuta. In circumstances that remain unclear, at least two trucks carrying the aid caught fire during the violence.

Footage broadcast on Colombian television on Wednesday showed a burned-out truck bed in front of the shipping containers, which had been positioned overnight across the Simón Bolívar bridge.

Last month, Venezuelan authorities barricaded the nearby Tienditas bridge with two containers and an oil truck. That bridge was finished in 2016 but never inaugurated.

The Colombian border has been closed to most vehicles since 2015 following a string of disputes between the two countries, and on Saturday Maduro closed all Venezuela’s borders.

Colombia closed four crossings from its side on Saturday evening, reopening them on Monday afternoon.

Saturday’s aid effort was intended to weaken Maduro by triggering a flood of military defections. That did not happen, but Colombian migration authorities reported that around 250 military officials have crossed the border, joining a steady stream of Venezuelan refugees leaving the country via unpoliced routes.

After Saturday’s violence, Guaidó – who has been recognized as Venezuela’s rightful president by the US and fifty other countries – travelled to Bogotá and met with the US vice-president Mike Pence and Latin American leaders.

Guaidó, who was officially barred from travel, was set to arrive in Brazil late on Wednesday for a meeting with the far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro, an outspoken opponent of Maduro.

Maduro’s vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez, will travel to Moscow for talks with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday. Russia has been among Maduro’s staunchest allies during the crisis.

Meanwhile, unrest continued near Venezuela’s eastern border with Brazil after violence that left at least three people dead and dozens injured over the weekend.

On Tuesday morning, soldiers took control of an airport in the town of Santa Elena de Uairén, which was the focus of clashes between Venezuelan soldiers and indigenous protesters.

Witnesses say they were attempting to travel to Maurak, where members of the Pémon indigenous community had captured 30 soldiers on Saturday.
Juan Guaidó announces that he will exercise his "duties as president" when he returns to Venezuela from Colombia. Guaidó also stated that he did not see any signs of "broad support" from Russia towards Nicolás Maduro.