Venezuela is hoping a major new agreement with the United States can transform its vast oil wealth into economic recovery, jobs and better public services.

The deal marks a significant expansion of the US role in Venezuela’s oil industry, with Washington seeking to revive production and secure additional crude supplies for American refineries. Venezuela, which holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, has seen its production remain far below its potential after years of sanctions, underinvestment and mismanagement.

Venezuelan officials say the agreement could generate major revenue for housing, healthcare, schools, roads, electricity, water infrastructure and earthquake reconstruction. The government also says foreign companies will provide capital, technology and expertise while Venezuela retains ownership of its oil resources.

But ordinary Venezuelans remain cautious. Many say they have heard promises before and want to see oil revenues translated into better wages, functioning public services, infrastructure and direct improvements to everyday life.

Venezuela-US Oil Deal: Can Trump’s Energy Push Revive Venezuela’s Economy?

President Nicolas Maduro sparked a furore in Venezuela after he urged women to produce six children, each for the "good of the country".

While addressing a woman present at the healthcare event, Maduro said, "May God bless you for having given life to six little girls and boys".

He then urged that "Every woman should have six children for the good of the country", he said.

Although Venezuela sits on the world's largest proven oil reserves, Venezuela's economy has collapsed under Maduro's leadership and the country has suffered five years of recession. The UN says more than 4.5 million people have left the country due to its crisis while inflation is the highest in the world, according to the International Monetary Fund.

In 2019, the official currency, the bolivar, depreciated more than 90%, while hyperinflation in the first nine months of the year clocked in at 4,680%, according to the central bank.

According to a report by the United Nations' children's agency Unicef, 13% of Venezuelan children were malnourished between 2013 and 2018.

A bitter power struggle between the Maduro government and the opposition leader Juan Guaido has exacerbated the country's economic crisis.

Last year, Guaido declared himself the country's acting president in a direct challenge to Maduro.&nbsp; 
He derived such authority from his position as the speaker of the National Assembly after the legislature declared Maduro's 2018 re-election invalid following a poll widely denounced as rigged.

 
&nbsp;

President Nicolas Maduro sparked a furore in Venezuela after he urged women to produce six children, each for the "good of the country". While addressing a woman present at the healthcare event, Maduro said, "May God bless you for having given life to six little girls and boys".

President Nicolas Maduro sparked a furore in Venezuela after he urged women to produce six children, each for the "good of the country". While addressing a woman present at the healthcare event, Maduro said, "May God bless you for having given life to six little girls and boys". He then urged that "Every woman should have six children for the good of the country", he said. Although Venezuela sits on the world's largest proven oil reserves, Venezuela's economy has collapsed under Maduro's leadership and the country has suffered five years of recession. The UN says more than 4.5 million people have left the country due to its crisis while inflation is the highest in the world, according to the International Monetary Fund. In 2019, the official currency, the bolivar, depreciated more than 90%, while hyperinflation in the first nine months of the year clocked in at 4,680%, according to the central bank. According to a report by the United Nations' children's agency Unicef, 13% of Venezuelan children were malnourished between 2013 and 2018. A bitter power struggle between the Maduro government and the opposition leader Juan Guaido has exacerbated the country's economic crisis. Last year, Guaido declared himself the country's acting president in a direct challenge to Maduro. He derived such authority from his position as the speaker of the National Assembly after the legislature declared Maduro's 2018 re-election invalid following a poll widely denounced as rigged.

Woman should have six children for the good of the country: Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro

The small waiting room at the home of self-styled healer "Brother Guayanes" in Caracas' rundown Petare district fills up quickly with patients -- business has never been better.

With Venezuela's chronic medicine shortages and hyperinflation, more and more people are turning to alternative medicine to treat common ailments in the crisis-wracked South American country.

"We go to the hospital and there's nothing there. They don't have medicines, or they're too expensive, what are we to do?" said Rosa Saez, 77, who has come to get treatment for a painful arm.

Carlos Rosales -- he uses the more ceremonious "Brother Guayanes" for his business -- is finishing up a "spiritual intervention" on a patient in what passes for his surgery.

The patient lies, eyes closed, on a cot as, in a series of swishes and clicks, the healer waves five pairs of scissors one after another over his prone body.&nbsp;

The healer says he performs 200 such interventions a week in a dim, candle-lit room that features two camp beds and an array of plaster statues that Rosales says represent "spiritual entities".

A regular visitor to the spiritual center, Saez says she has faith in Rosales' methods: "He healed my kidneys."&nbsp;

Natural healing

All across Venezuela, but particularly in poor areas like Petare, patients cannot hope to afford the price of medicines that due to the economic crisis, have become exceedingly rare.&nbsp;

Venezuela's pharmacists' federation say&nbsp;pharmacies and hospitals have on average only about 20 per cent of the medicine stock needed.

Rosales' clinic is muggy with the smell of tobacco. A crucifix suspended from a chain around his neck, he practices a seeming mixture of smoke-blowing shamanism, plant-based medicine and mainstream religion.&nbsp;

Posters hung near the entrance remind clients to arrive with a candle and tobacco and "Don't forget that payment is in cash".

Much like a general practitioner, Rosales spends time consulting with his patients, examining them with a stethoscope, before offering a diagnosis. Often he prescribes potions based on plants and fruit, such as pineapple and a type of local squash known as chayote.

"We know medicines are necessary," he says. "I'm not against medicine, but my medicine is botany."

Plants replace drugs

At her stall in a downtown Caracas market, 72-year-old Lilia Reyes says she has seen her trade in medicinal plants flourish.

"I can't keep up with the demand," she said at her stall, bathed in the aroma of chamomile, one of the 150 plants she sells.

Careless consumption of some herbs can be deadly, warns Grismery Morillo. A doctor at a Caracas public hospital, she says she has seen many cases of acute liver failure in people who have eaten certain roots.

According to Venezuela's opposition parties, some 300,000 chronically ill people are in danger of dying from the shortages of medicines.

But despite the risks, people like Carmen Teresa say they have no alternative.&nbsp;

In the kitchen of her restaurant which closed down three years ago as the economic crisis took hold, the 58-year-old Colombian prepares an infusion of fig leaves to treat "diabetic neuropathy".

The painkillers needed for the condition are "too expensive" and prices are going up due to hyperinflation, so she is cutting back on the pills and supplementing her treatment with herbal infusions.

She needs at least four tablets a day to keep her diabetes at bay. Her mother, bedridden since breaking a leg a year ago, suffers from Alzheimer's disease and needs five pills a day for hypertension.

"I'm still taking my pills, but I reduced the dose," says Teresa, who is also replacing cholesterol pills with lemon juice.

The small waiting room at the home of self-styled healer "Brother Guayanes" in Caracas' rundown Petare district fills up quickly with patients -- business has never been better.

The small waiting room at the home of self-styled healer "Brother Guayanes" in Caracas' rundown Petare district fills up quickly with patients -- business has never been better. With Venezuela's chronic medicine shortages and hyperinflation, more and more people are turning to alternative medicine to treat common ailments in the crisis-wracked South American country. "We go to the hospital and there's nothing there. They don't have medicines, or they're too expensive, what are we to do?" said Rosa Saez, 77, who has come to get treatment for a painful arm. Carlos Rosales -- he uses the more ceremonious "Brother Guayanes" for his business -- is finishing up a "spiritual intervention" on a patient in what passes for his surgery. The patient lies, eyes closed, on a cot as, in a series of swishes and clicks, the healer waves five pairs of scissors one after another over his prone body. The healer says he performs 200 such interventions a week in a dim, candle-lit room that features two camp beds and an array of plaster statues that Rosales says represent "spiritual entities". A regular visitor to the spiritual center, Saez says she has faith in Rosales' methods: "He healed my kidneys." Natural healing All across Venezuela, but particularly in poor areas like Petare, patients cannot hope to afford the price of medicines that due to the economic crisis, have become exceedingly rare. Venezuela's pharmacists' federation say pharmacies and hospitals have on average only about 20 per cent of the medicine stock needed. Rosales' clinic is muggy with the smell of tobacco. A crucifix suspended from a chain around his neck, he practices a seeming mixture of smoke-blowing shamanism, plant-based medicine and mainstream religion. Posters hung near the entrance remind clients to arrive with a candle and tobacco and "Don't forget that payment is in cash". Much like a general practitioner, Rosales spends time consulting with his patients, examining them with a stethoscope, before offering a diagnosis. Often he prescribes potions based on plants and fruit, such as pineapple and a type of local squash known as chayote. "We know medicines are necessary," he says. "I'm not against medicine, but my medicine is botany." Plants replace drugs At her stall in a downtown Caracas market, 72-year-old Lilia Reyes says she has seen her trade in medicinal plants flourish. "I can't keep up with the demand," she said at her stall, bathed in the aroma of chamomile, one of the 150 plants she sells. Careless consumption of some herbs can be deadly, warns Grismery Morillo. A doctor at a Caracas public hospital, she says she has seen many cases of acute liver failure in people who have eaten certain roots. According to Venezuela's opposition parties, some 300,000 chronically ill people are in danger of dying from the shortages of medicines. But despite the risks, people like Carmen Teresa say they have no alternative. In the kitchen of her restaurant which closed down three years ago as the economic crisis took hold, the 58-year-old Colombian prepares an infusion of fig leaves to treat "diabetic neuropathy". The painkillers needed for the condition are "too expensive" and prices are going up due to hyperinflation, so she is cutting back on the pills and supplementing her treatment with herbal infusions. She needs at least four tablets a day to keep her diabetes at bay. Her mother, bedridden since breaking a leg a year ago, suffers from Alzheimer's disease and needs five pills a day for hypertension. "I'm still taking my pills, but I reduced the dose," says Teresa, who is also replacing cholesterol pills with lemon juice.

Venezuelans turn to alternative medicine amid shortages

Jorge Arquiles for years started his day by turning on the stove of his small house in the Venezuelan city of Maracay. These days, his breakfast routine begins with a search for firewood in a national park just behind his home. Chronic shortages of natural gas in the country with the world's largest oil reserves now mean that cooking fuel is increasingly coming from trees.

Venezuela's trees suffer as firewood replaces scarce cooking gas

The United States imposed sanctions Monday on the governors of four Venezuelan states aligned with embattled President <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/pompeo-confident-maduros-days-are-numbered-in-venezuela-199411">Nicolas Maduro</a> for standing in the way of humanitarian aid shipments.

The action came after a weekend of bloody clashes on the Venezuelan border as security forces beat back attempts by supporters of opposition leader Juan Guaido to bring in US-donated supplies of food and medicine.

Four people were killed and hundreds injured in the border violence.

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/venezuelas-guaido-meets-with-foreign-allies-for-anti-maduro-strategy-199636">Venezuela's Guaido meets with foreign allies for anti-Maduro strategy</a>

"The illegitimate Maduro regime’s attempts to blockade international aid intended for the Venezuelan people are shameful," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.

"Treasury is targeting four state governors aligned with former President Maduro for standing in the way of severely needed humanitarian assistance and prolonging the suffering of the Venezuelan people," he said in a statement.

Mnuchinsaid Washington "fully supports" Guaido and his efforts "to address the endemic corruption, human rights abuses, and violent repression that has become the hallmark of the illegitimate Maduro regime."

Venezuela is wracked by a humanitarian crisis following years of recession and hyperinflation that have left shortages of basic necessities such as food and medicine.

Guaido says 300,000 people face death if those supplies aren't brought in urgently but Maduro refuses to let it enter, claiming it would be a smokescreen to a US invasion.

The latest sanctions come as the Lima Group is meeting in Bogota to find a way to facilitate delivery of the aid, and find a way to deal with the crisis.

Under the sanctions, Treasury will seize any US property owned by the governors and prohibit anyone using the US financial system from having business dealings with them.

The targeted governors include Omar Jose Prieto Fernandez, who leads Zulia state, where much of the nation's petroleum industry is based, and Jorge Luis Garcia Carneiro, head of Vargas state, adjacent to Caracas, where the nation's main airport is located. 
&nbsp;

The United States imposed sanctions Monday on the governors of four Venezuelan states aligned with embattled President Nicolas Maduro for standing in the way of humanitarian aid shipments.

The United States imposed sanctions Monday on the governors of four Venezuelan states aligned with embattled President Nicolas Maduro for standing in the way of humanitarian aid shipments. The action came after a weekend of bloody clashes on the Venezuelan border as security forces beat back attempts by supporters of opposition leader Juan Guaido to bring in US-donated supplies of food and medicine. Four people were killed and hundreds injured in the border violence. Also read: Venezuela's Guaido meets with foreign allies for anti-Maduro strategy "The illegitimate Maduro regime’s attempts to blockade international aid intended for the Venezuelan people are shameful," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. "Treasury is targeting four state governors aligned with former President Maduro for standing in the way of severely needed humanitarian assistance and prolonging the suffering of the Venezuelan people," he said in a statement. Mnuchinsaid Washington "fully supports" Guaido and his efforts "to address the endemic corruption, human rights abuses, and violent repression that has become the hallmark of the illegitimate Maduro regime." Venezuela is wracked by a humanitarian crisis following years of recession and hyperinflation that have left shortages of basic necessities such as food and medicine. Guaido says 300,000 people face death if those supplies aren't brought in urgently but Maduro refuses to let it enter, claiming it would be a smokescreen to a US invasion. The latest sanctions come as the Lima Group is meeting in Bogota to find a way to facilitate delivery of the aid, and find a way to deal with the crisis. Under the sanctions, Treasury will seize any US property owned by the governors and prohibit anyone using the US financial system from having business dealings with them. The targeted governors include Omar Jose Prieto Fernandez, who leads Zulia state, where much of the nation's petroleum industry is based, and Jorge Luis Garcia Carneiro, head of Vargas state, adjacent to Caracas, where the nation's main airport is located.

US imposes sanctions on Venezuelan governors supporting Nicolas Maduro

Troops loyal to President Nicolas Maduro violently drove back foreign aid convoys from Venezuela's border on Saturday, <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/4-people-reported-slain-on-venezuela-brazil-border-199341">killing four protesters</a> and prompting opposition leader Juan Guaido to propose that Washington consider "all options" to oust him.

Trucks laden with US food and medicine returned to warehouses in Colombia after <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/two-killed-as-venezuela-aid-showdown-turns-violent-199226">opposition supporters failed to break through lines of troops</a>, who dispersed them with tear gas and rubber rounds, injuring dozens. Witnesses said masked men in civilian clothes also shot at protesters with live bullets.

"Today's events force me to make a decision, to formally propose to the international community that we must have all options open to secure the freedom of our country," Guaido said on Twitter.

The <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/venezuela-crisis-us-will-take-action-says-mike-pompeo-199230">United States has been the top foreign backer of Guaido</a>, who invoked Venezuela's constitution to assume an interim presidency last month and is now recognised by most Western nations as the OPEC nation's legitimate leader.

President Donald Trump has in the past said military intervention in Venezuela was "an option", though Guaido made no reference to it on Saturday.

Guaido had given a personal send-off to one convoy carrying aid from the Colombian city of Cucuta on Saturday.

The opposition had hoped Venezuelan soldiers would baulk at turning back supplies desperately needed in the country, where a growing number of its 30 million people suffer from malnutrition and treatable diseases.

But while some 60 members of the security forces defected on Saturday, according to Colombian authorities, the lines of National Guard soldiers at the frontier crossings held firm, firing tear gas at the convoys.

At the Urena border point, two aid trucks caught fire, sending plumes of dark smoke into the air as crowds raced to try to save the boxes of supplies, a Reuters witness said.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/aid-shipment-enters-venezuela-via-brazil-border-juan-guaido-199213">Guaido said he would keep demanding Maduro let the aid in</a> and would seek other routes. He said he would attend a meeting of the regional Lima Group of nations in Bogota on Monday with US Vice President Mike Pence during which they would decide more actions to ramp up pressure on Maduro.

"Today the world saw in minutes, in hours, the worst face of the Venezuelan dictatorship," Guaido said at an earlier news conference in Colombia, alongside Colombian President Ivan Duque.

Angered by Duque's support for Guaido, Maduro said he was breaking diplomatic relations with Bogota and gave its diplomatic staff 24 hours to leave the country.

Maduro denies his oil-rich nation has any need of aid and accuses Guaido of being a coup-mongering puppet for US President Donald Trump. Washington has warned it could seek to impose tough new sanctions on Venezuela at Monday's summit if Maduro blocked the aid shipments.

"What do the Venezuelan people think of Donald Trump's threats? Get your hands off Venezuela. Yankee go home," Maduro told a rally of red-shirted, flag-waving supporters in the capital, Caracas. "He is sending us rotten food, thank you!"

Trump's national security adviser John Bolton said on Twitter that countries still supporting Maduro "should take note of what they are endorsing", in a thinly veiled rebuke to China and Russia.

'Freedom'

In the Venezuelan border towns of San Antonio and Urena, troops fired rubber rounds at opposition supporters, including lawmakers, who walked toward the frontier waving Venezuelan flags and chanting "Freedom".

Reuters television images from San Antonio showed a dozen men on motorbikes, dressed in black and wearing balaclavas, firing shotguns and pistols at a crowd.

Demonstrators in Urena barricaded streets with burning tires, set a bus alight and hurled stones at troops to demand that Maduro allow aid into a country ravaged by a meltdown that has halved the size of the economy in five years.

"They started shooting at close range as if we were criminals," said shopkeeper Vladimir Gomez, 27, wearing a white shirt stained with blood.

At least six of about a dozen trucks that tried to reach Venezuela later returned to Cucuta, where Colombia's disaster management agency said they would be unloaded and the aid stored until Guaido requested their use again.

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello said he ordered a Puerto Rican ship carrying humanitarian aid to turn back after a Venezuelan navy ship threatened to open fire on it.

"This is unacceptable and shameful," Rossello said in a statement. "We have also notified our partners in the US government about this serious incident."

A Reuters witness said two aid trucks crossed the Brazilian border but not the Venezuelan customs checkpoint.

In the southern town of Santa Elena de Uairen, at least two people were killed in clashes with security forces, according to a doctor at the hospital where they were treated. On Friday, a married couple in a nearby indigenous community was shot dead by security forces.

Rights group Penal Forum said it recorded 29 injuries from bullet wounds and two deaths across Venezuela in clashes with troops on Saturday. Colombian authorities said they registered 285 people injured, including those affected by tear gas.

"I'm a homemaker and I'm here fighting for my family, for my children and parents, resisting the military's tear gas," said opposition protester Sobeida Monsalve, 42, in Urena.

Dozens defect

Guaido had appealed to Venezuela's armed forces to stand aside and allow aid in, promising amnesty to officers who disavowed Maduro. Dozens of soldiers, whose families suffer the same shortages as other Venezuelans, took up his offer.

"You don't owe any obedience to someone who sadistically celebrates that the humanitarian aid doesn't enter a country that needs it," Guaido said.

A social media video showed troops who abandoned their post driving armoured vehicles across a bridge linking Venezuela and Colombia, knocking over metal barricades, and then jumping out of the vehicles and running to the Colombian side.

"What we did today, we did for our families, for the Venezuelan people," one of the defectors said in a video televised by a Colombian news program.

Venezuela's ruling Socialist Party calls Guaido's aid effort a veiled invasion backed by Washington and insists that the United States should instead help Venezuela by lifting crippling financial and oil sector sanctions.

On Saturday, Maduro turned his ire on Colombia and said Duque was letting its territory be used for attacks against Venezuela.

"For that reason, I have decided to break all political and diplomatic relations with Colombia's fascist government," he told cheering supporters.

Thousands of white-clad protesters gathered outside a military base in Caracas to demand that the armed forces allow in the aid.

"This is the biggest battle that the armed forces can win," said Sheyla Salas, 48, who works in advertising. "Please join this struggle, get on the right side of history, allow the humanitarian aid to enter."

Troops loyal to President Nicolas Maduro violently drove back foreign aid convoys from Venezuela's border on Saturday, killing four protesters and prompting opposition leader Juan Guaido to propose that Washington consider "all options" to oust him.

Troops loyal to President Nicolas Maduro violently drove back foreign aid convoys from Venezuela's border on Saturday, killing four protesters and prompting opposition leader Juan Guaido to propose that Washington consider "all options" to oust him. Trucks laden with US food and medicine returned to warehouses in Colombia after opposition supporters failed to break through lines of troops, who dispersed them with tear gas and rubber rounds, injuring dozens. Witnesses said masked men in civilian clothes also shot at protesters with live bullets. "Today's events force me to make a decision, to formally propose to the international community that we must have all options open to secure the freedom of our country," Guaido said on Twitter. The United States has been the top foreign backer of Guaido, who invoked Venezuela's constitution to assume an interim presidency last month and is now recognised by most Western nations as the OPEC nation's legitimate leader. President Donald Trump has in the past said military intervention in Venezuela was "an option", though Guaido made no reference to it on Saturday. Guaido had given a personal send-off to one convoy carrying aid from the Colombian city of Cucuta on Saturday. The opposition had hoped Venezuelan soldiers would baulk at turning back supplies desperately needed in the country, where a growing number of its 30 million people suffer from malnutrition and treatable diseases. But while some 60 members of the security forces defected on Saturday, according to Colombian authorities, the lines of National Guard soldiers at the frontier crossings held firm, firing tear gas at the convoys. At the Urena border point, two aid trucks caught fire, sending plumes of dark smoke into the air as crowds raced to try to save the boxes of supplies, a Reuters witness said. Guaido said he would keep demanding Maduro let the aid in and would seek other routes. He said he would attend a meeting of the regional Lima Group of nations in Bogota on Monday with US Vice President Mike Pence during which they would decide more actions to ramp up pressure on Maduro. "Today the world saw in minutes, in hours, the worst face of the Venezuelan dictatorship," Guaido said at an earlier news conference in Colombia, alongside Colombian President Ivan Duque. Angered by Duque's support for Guaido, Maduro said he was breaking diplomatic relations with Bogota and gave its diplomatic staff 24 hours to leave the country. Maduro denies his oil-rich nation has any need of aid and accuses Guaido of being a coup-mongering puppet for US President Donald Trump. Washington has warned it could seek to impose tough new sanctions on Venezuela at Monday's summit if Maduro blocked the aid shipments. "What do the Venezuelan people think of Donald Trump's threats? Get your hands off Venezuela. Yankee go home," Maduro told a rally of red-shirted, flag-waving supporters in the capital, Caracas. "He is sending us rotten food, thank you!" Trump's national security adviser John Bolton said on Twitter that countries still supporting Maduro "should take note of what they are endorsing", in a thinly veiled rebuke to China and Russia. 'Freedom' In the Venezuelan border towns of San Antonio and Urena, troops fired rubber rounds at opposition supporters, including lawmakers, who walked toward the frontier waving Venezuelan flags and chanting "Freedom". Reuters television images from San Antonio showed a dozen men on motorbikes, dressed in black and wearing balaclavas, firing shotguns and pistols at a crowd. Demonstrators in Urena barricaded streets with burning tires, set a bus alight and hurled stones at troops to demand that Maduro allow aid into a country ravaged by a meltdown that has halved the size of the economy in five years. "They started shooting at close range as if we were criminals," said shopkeeper Vladimir Gomez, 27, wearing a white shirt stained with blood. At least six of about a dozen trucks that tried to reach Venezuela later returned to Cucuta, where Colombia's disaster management agency said they would be unloaded and the aid stored until Guaido requested their use again. Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello said he ordered a Puerto Rican ship carrying humanitarian aid to turn back after a Venezuelan navy ship threatened to open fire on it. "This is unacceptable and shameful," Rossello said in a statement. "We have also notified our partners in the US government about this serious incident." A Reuters witness said two aid trucks crossed the Brazilian border but not the Venezuelan customs checkpoint. In the southern town of Santa Elena de Uairen, at least two people were killed in clashes with security forces, according to a doctor at the hospital where they were treated. On Friday, a married couple in a nearby indigenous community was shot dead by security forces. Rights group Penal Forum said it recorded 29 injuries from bullet wounds and two deaths across Venezuela in clashes with troops on Saturday. Colombian authorities said they registered 285 people injured, including those affected by tear gas. "I'm a homemaker and I'm here fighting for my family, for my children and parents, resisting the military's tear gas," said opposition protester Sobeida Monsalve, 42, in Urena. Dozens defect Guaido had appealed to Venezuela's armed forces to stand aside and allow aid in, promising amnesty to officers who disavowed Maduro. Dozens of soldiers, whose families suffer the same shortages as other Venezuelans, took up his offer. "You don't owe any obedience to someone who sadistically celebrates that the humanitarian aid doesn't enter a country that needs it," Guaido said. A social media video showed troops who abandoned their post driving armoured vehicles across a bridge linking Venezuela and Colombia, knocking over metal barricades, and then jumping out of the vehicles and running to the Colombian side. "What we did today, we did for our families, for the Venezuelan people," one of the defectors said in a video televised by a Colombian news program. Venezuela's ruling Socialist Party calls Guaido's aid effort a veiled invasion backed by Washington and insists that the United States should instead help Venezuela by lifting crippling financial and oil sector sanctions. On Saturday, Maduro turned his ire on Colombia and said Duque was letting its territory be used for attacks against Venezuela. "For that reason, I have decided to break all political and diplomatic relations with Colombia's fascist government," he told cheering supporters. Thousands of white-clad protesters gathered outside a military base in Caracas to demand that the armed forces allow in the aid. "This is the biggest battle that the armed forces can win," said Sheyla Salas, 48, who works in advertising. "Please join this struggle, get on the right side of history, allow the humanitarian aid to enter."

Venezuela: Guaido urges Washington to consider 'all options' to oust Maduro as 4 die in clashes

Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Gauido announced Saturday that the first shipment of humanitarian aid had entered Venezuela through its border with Brazil, defying a blockade by President Nicolas Maduro.

"Attention Venezuela: We officially announce that the first shipment of humanitarian aid has now entered our border with Brazil. This is a great achievement, Venezuela!" wrote Guaido in a tweet.

Humanitarian aid has become the centrepiece of the stand-off between Maduro and Guaido, the 35-year-old leader of Venezuela's National Assembly who declared himself interim president exactly one month ago sparking a President legitimacy crisis in the country.

Guaido also called the Maduro's 2018 reelections invalid and the body that elevated him.

However, Maduro's government says, the current crisis is a coup attempt led by the United States to topple him and control the country's vast oil reserves.

Venezuela is gripped by a humanitarian crisis that has seen poverty soar during years of recession.

As many as 300,000 Venezuelans are in dire need of food and medicine after years of shortages and malnutrition, according to Guaido.

United Nations figures show that some 2.7 million people have fled Venezuela since 2015 amid the crisis, and some 5,000 Venezuelans emigrate from their country each day. 
&nbsp;

(With inputs from news agencies)

Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Gauido announced Saturday that the first shipment of humanitarian aid had entered Venezuela through its border with Brazil, defying a blockade by President Nicolas Maduro.

Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Gauido announced Saturday that the first shipment of humanitarian aid had entered Venezuela through its border with Brazil, defying a blockade by President Nicolas Maduro. "Attention Venezuela: We officially announce that the first shipment of humanitarian aid has now entered our border with Brazil. This is a great achievement, Venezuela!" wrote Guaido in a tweet. Humanitarian aid has become the centrepiece of the stand-off between Maduro and Guaido, the 35-year-old leader of Venezuela's National Assembly who declared himself interim president exactly one month ago sparking a President legitimacy crisis in the country. Guaido also called the Maduro's 2018 reelections invalid and the body that elevated him. However, Maduro's government says, the current crisis is a coup attempt led by the United States to topple him and control the country's vast oil reserves. Venezuela is gripped by a humanitarian crisis that has seen poverty soar during years of recession. As many as 300,000 Venezuelans are in dire need of food and medicine after years of shortages and malnutrition, according to Guaido. United Nations figures show that some 2.7 million people have fled Venezuela since 2015 amid the crisis, and some 5,000 Venezuelans emigrate from their country each day. (With inputs from news agencies)

Aid shipment enters Venezuela via Brazil border: Juan Guaido

The reigning Miss Venezuela says she has been robbed at gunpoint, forced to scramble to put food on the table and had to bid a tearful farewell to two brothers who fled the South American country's economic crisis.

Yet despite shortages of basic products and the world's highest inflation rate, deep political uncertainty and elevated levels of crime, Isabella Rodriguez says she remains hopeful that things will improve.

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A dark-skinned model who hails from a slum located on steep hills in Caracas' eastern outskirts, the 25-year-old Rodriguez doesn't fit the typical beauty mould in pageant-crazy Venezuela, but her life experiences accurately mirror those of the majority of her compatriots.

Speaking with equal passion about the Petare shantytown where she still lives and her personal spirituality, Rodriguez said on Wednesday that she wants to leverage those dual aspects of her identity to help local residents of that low-income district, particularly young girls.

An avowed feminist, she plans to provide counselling and give talks on women's empowerment as part of the social-work duties that accompany her new title as Miss Venezuela, which she won in December.

Rodriguez stressed the importance of gender equality in any line of work and said her example can be used to show young girls from Petare - considered Latin America's largest shantytown - that persistence is rewarded and dreams can come true.

The beauty queen was one of hundreds of thousands of people who took to the streets of Caracas on January 23 to protest against a debilitating economic crisis that has led to an exodus of millions of Venezuelans in recent years.

Two of those emigrants are Rodriguez's brothers, who traveled to Peru in search of greater economic opportunities.

"I want to be in a country with security... because I also have the right to a normal diet, the right to live in peace," she said, adding that thousands of people like her, especially in poor areas of the country, share that same yearning and are willing to work for the common good.

Without mentioning the political conflict between leftist President Nicolas Maduro's administration and the opposition-led legislature, whose speaker has declared himself the interim head of state, Rodriguez said she believes Venezuela will soon emerge from a long-standing crisis marked by food and medicine shortages, high levels of violent crime and hyperinflation.

The beauty queen has experienced these scourges first-hand, noting that she and her parents have wondered at times what they can afford to eat and that she was a victim of an armed robbery in her own neighbourhood.

"We almost had to beg for our lives," Rodriguez said, adding that on another occasion she and numerous other people - including school-aged children - came upon the body of a slain man while descending a steep hillside in Petare.

Separately, Rodriguez also expressed support for Spaniard Angela Ponce, who last year became the first transgender contestant in a Miss Universe competition, saying that "when a person decides to pursue a dream ... there's no reason for us to judge her."

The Venezuelan herself was the target of ridicule and prejudice after her coronation, with some social-media users posting racist and classist messages that denigrated her physical features and humble origins.

"Criticism has never affected me... I know how much effort I put in to win the crown," she said, noting that gaining tens of thousands of followers on social media has been a positive because she has been able to raise money for sick children.

Rodriguez also has used her online presence to denounce acts of xenophobia experienced by some of her countrymen in Ecuador, where the murder of a pregnant Ecuadorian woman by a Venezuelan migrant triggered an immigration backlash.

"That really hit me hard... we're surrounded here by Ecuadorians, Colombians, and they're very welcome," the beauty queen said, calling for rationality and common sense to prevail.

With her origins in a low-income neighbourhood and evident love for a country she doesn't want to abandon and longs to see prosper, Rodriguez is perhaps a perfect representative of Venezuela, and not only because she will wear a sash bearing her country's name later this year at the Miss World pageant in Thailand.

The reigning Miss Venezuela says she has been robbed at gunpoint, forced to scramble to put food on the table and had to bid a tearful farewell to two brothers who fled the South American country's economic crisis.

The reigning Miss Venezuela says she has been robbed at gunpoint, forced to scramble to put food on the table and had to bid a tearful farewell to two brothers who fled the South American country's economic crisis. Yet despite shortages of basic products and the world's highest inflation rate, deep political uncertainty and elevated levels of crime, Isabella Rodriguez says she remains hopeful that things will improve. × A dark-skinned model who hails from a slum located on steep hills in Caracas' eastern outskirts, the 25-year-old Rodriguez doesn't fit the typical beauty mould in pageant-crazy Venezuela, but her life experiences accurately mirror those of the majority of her compatriots. Speaking with equal passion about the Petare shantytown where she still lives and her personal spirituality, Rodriguez said on Wednesday that she wants to leverage those dual aspects of her identity to help local residents of that low-income district, particularly young girls. An avowed feminist, she plans to provide counselling and give talks on women's empowerment as part of the social-work duties that accompany her new title as Miss Venezuela, which she won in December. Rodriguez stressed the importance of gender equality in any line of work and said her example can be used to show young girls from Petare - considered Latin America's largest shantytown - that persistence is rewarded and dreams can come true. The beauty queen was one of hundreds of thousands of people who took to the streets of Caracas on January 23 to protest against a debilitating economic crisis that has led to an exodus of millions of Venezuelans in recent years. Two of those emigrants are Rodriguez's brothers, who traveled to Peru in search of greater economic opportunities. "I want to be in a country with security... because I also have the right to a normal diet, the right to live in peace," she said, adding that thousands of people like her, especially in poor areas of the country, share that same yearning and are willing to work for the common good. Without mentioning the political conflict between leftist President Nicolas Maduro's administration and the opposition-led legislature, whose speaker has declared himself the interim head of state, Rodriguez said she believes Venezuela will soon emerge from a long-standing crisis marked by food and medicine shortages, high levels of violent crime and hyperinflation. The beauty queen has experienced these scourges first-hand, noting that she and her parents have wondered at times what they can afford to eat and that she was a victim of an armed robbery in her own neighbourhood. "We almost had to beg for our lives," Rodriguez said, adding that on another occasion she and numerous other people - including school-aged children - came upon the body of a slain man while descending a steep hillside in Petare. Separately, Rodriguez also expressed support for Spaniard Angela Ponce, who last year became the first transgender contestant in a Miss Universe competition, saying that "when a person decides to pursue a dream ... there's no reason for us to judge her." The Venezuelan herself was the target of ridicule and prejudice after her coronation, with some social-media users posting racist and classist messages that denigrated her physical features and humble origins. "Criticism has never affected me... I know how much effort I put in to win the crown," she said, noting that gaining tens of thousands of followers on social media has been a positive because she has been able to raise money for sick children. Rodriguez also has used her online presence to denounce acts of xenophobia experienced by some of her countrymen in Ecuador, where the murder of a pregnant Ecuadorian woman by a Venezuelan migrant triggered an immigration backlash. "That really hit me hard... we're surrounded here by Ecuadorians, Colombians, and they're very welcome," the beauty queen said, calling for rationality and common sense to prevail. With her origins in a low-income neighbourhood and evident love for a country she doesn't want to abandon and longs to see prosper, Rodriguez is perhaps a perfect representative of Venezuela, and not only because she will wear a sash bearing her country's name later this year at the Miss World pageant in Thailand.

Watch: We almost had to beg for our lives, says Miss Venezuela on her country's economic crisis

A 20-year-old Venezuelan protester died on Friday after being shot in the head, authorities said, taking fatalities from a month of anti-government unrest to at least 37 as the opposition geared up for more demonstrations.

Hecder Lugo was hurt during fighting between demonstrators and security forces in Valencia on Thursday that also injured four others, the local opposition Mayor Enzo Scarano said in a series of tweets.

The state prosecutor&#39;s office, which keeps an official count of deaths since protests began against socialist President Nicolas Maduro in early April, confirmed he died after being shot in a protest.

Another 717 people have been injured and 152 are still in jail from the hundreds rounded up in widespread unrest around the volatile South American OPEC nation of 30 million people, according to the office&#39;s latest tally.

There has been violence and widespread looting this week in Valencia, a once-bustling industrial hub two hours from the capital by road.

And in an incident loaded with symbolism, a handful of young men destroyed a statue of late leader Hugo Chavez in the oil-producing Zulia state, according to videos circulating on social media on Friday evening.

Footage shows the statue, which depicts Chavez saluting and wearing a sash, being yanked down to cheers in a public plaza before it is bashed into a sidewalk and then the road as onlookers swear at the leftist, who died in 2013 from cancer.

&quot;Students destroyed this statue of Chavez. They accuse him, correctly, of destroying their future,&quot; opposition lawmaker Carlos Valero said about the incident, which was also reported in local media. Reuters was unable to independently confirm it.

Venezuela&#39;s opposition, which now enjoys majority support after being in the shadow of the ruling Socialist party since Chavez&#39;s 1998 election win, says his successor Maduro has become a dictator and wrecked the economy.

Vowing to stay in the streets for as long as necessary, opposition leaders announced nationwide women&#39;s marches for Saturday with the biggest planned for the capital Caracas.

Opposition lawmakers briefly unfurled a banner on Friday at the National Assembly, where they won a majority in 2015 thanks to voter ire over the recession, saying &quot;Maduro Dictator&quot;.

The president says they are seeking a violent coup with US support, and is setting up a &quot;constituent assembly&quot; super body to shake up public powers, change the constitution, and possibly replace the existing legislature.

&quot;President Maduro has made a big call to national dialogue,&quot; Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez told diplomats at a meeting on Friday, showing them images of violence and vandalism on the streets caused by youths at the front of protests.

&quot;They are not peaceful, the opposition leaders share big responsibility in these acts of extremism and vandalism.&quot;

Fatalities on&nbsp;both sides

Opposition protests have often started peacefully but degenerated into violence when security forces block marchers and masked youths fight them with stones, Molotov cocktails and fireworks shot from pipes turned into homemade mortars.

Fatalities have included supporters of both sides, bystanders and members of the security forces.

Gunshot wounds have been the most common cause of deaths.

The opposition is boycotting Maduro&#39;s constituent assembly process, saying it is a ploy to keep him in power by setting up a body with mechanisms to ensure a government majority.

Having failed to trigger a referendum on his rule last year, the opposition is calling for delayed state gubernatorial elections to be held as soon as possible, and for the next presidential election slated for 2018 to be brought forward.

Polls show the ruling Socialists would badly lose any conventional vote due to four years of economic crisis that has led to debilitating food and medicine shortages.

While Maduro says opposition ranks include armed hoodlums, activists accuse the security forces of using excessive force including firing teargas canisters directly at people and allowing pro-government gangs to terrorize demonstrators.

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles said on Friday that 85 members of the military in Caracas had been arrested for opposition &quot;repression,&quot; adding that their relatives had asked him to publicize the detentions.

&quot;Cousin, it&#39;s enough!&quot; Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino&#39;s cousin, Ernesto Padrino, wrote to him in an open letter.

He was following in the footsteps of the state human rights ombudsman&#39;s son who surprised the country by publishing a video begging his father to &quot;end the injustice.&quot;

&quot;Eighty percent of Venezuelans want elections as a way out of our nation&#39;s grave economic and political crisis,&quot; wrote Ernesto Padrino on Facebook.

&quot;Sooner or later, the Venezuelan people will make you pay.&quot;

(Reuters)

Another 717 people have been injured and 152 are still in jail from the hundreds rounded up in widespread unrest

A 20-year-old Venezuelan protester died on Friday after being shot in the head, authorities said, taking fatalities from a month of anti-government unrest to at least 37 as the opposition geared up for more demonstrations. Hecder Lugo was hurt during fighting between demonstrators and security forces in Valencia on Thursday that also injured four others, the local opposition Mayor Enzo Scarano said in a series of tweets. The state prosecutor's office, which keeps an official count of deaths since protests began against socialist President Nicolas Maduro in early April, confirmed he died after being shot in a protest. Another 717 people have been injured and 152 are still in jail from the hundreds rounded up in widespread unrest around the volatile South American OPEC nation of 30 million people, according to the office's latest tally. There has been violence and widespread looting this week in Valencia, a once-bustling industrial hub two hours from the capital by road. And in an incident loaded with symbolism, a handful of young men destroyed a statue of late leader Hugo Chavez in the oil-producing Zulia state, according to videos circulating on social media on Friday evening. Footage shows the statue, which depicts Chavez saluting and wearing a sash, being yanked down to cheers in a public plaza before it is bashed into a sidewalk and then the road as onlookers swear at the leftist, who died in 2013 from cancer. "Students destroyed this statue of Chavez. They accuse him, correctly, of destroying their future," opposition lawmaker Carlos Valero said about the incident, which was also reported in local media. Reuters was unable to independently confirm it. Venezuela's opposition, which now enjoys majority support after being in the shadow of the ruling Socialist party since Chavez's 1998 election win, says his successor Maduro has become a dictator and wrecked the economy. Vowing to stay in the streets for as long as necessary, opposition leaders announced nationwide women's marches for Saturday with the biggest planned for the capital Caracas. Opposition lawmakers briefly unfurled a banner on Friday at the National Assembly, where they won a majority in 2015 thanks to voter ire over the recession, saying "Maduro Dictator". The president says they are seeking a violent coup with US support, and is setting up a "constituent assembly" super body to shake up public powers, change the constitution, and possibly replace the existing legislature. "President Maduro has made a big call to national dialogue," Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez told diplomats at a meeting on Friday, showing them images of violence and vandalism on the streets caused by youths at the front of protests. "They are not peaceful, the opposition leaders share big responsibility in these acts of extremism and vandalism." Fatalities on both sides Opposition protests have often started peacefully but degenerated into violence when security forces block marchers and masked youths fight them with stones, Molotov cocktails and fireworks shot from pipes turned into homemade mortars. Fatalities have included supporters of both sides, bystanders and members of the security forces. Gunshot wounds have been the most common cause of deaths. The opposition is boycotting Maduro's constituent assembly process, saying it is a ploy to keep him in power by setting up a body with mechanisms to ensure a government majority. Having failed to trigger a referendum on his rule last year, the opposition is calling for delayed state gubernatorial elections to be held as soon as possible, and for the next presidential election slated for 2018 to be brought forward. Polls show the ruling Socialists would badly lose any conventional vote due to four years of economic crisis that has led to debilitating food and medicine shortages. While Maduro says opposition ranks include armed hoodlums, activists accuse the security forces of using excessive force including firing teargas canisters directly at people and allowing pro-government gangs to terrorize demonstrators. Opposition leader Henrique Capriles said on Friday that 85 members of the military in Caracas had been arrested for opposition "repression," adding that their relatives had asked him to publicize the detentions. "Cousin, it's enough!" Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino's cousin, Ernesto Padrino, wrote to him in an open letter. He was following in the footsteps of the state human rights ombudsman's son who surprised the country by publishing a video begging his father to "end the injustice." "Eighty percent of Venezuelans want elections as a way out of our nation's grave economic and political crisis," wrote Ernesto Padrino on Facebook. "Sooner or later, the Venezuelan people will make you pay." (Reuters)

Venezuela: Death toll rises to at least 37 in month-long protests against President Maduro