Venezuela military “on alert” as it blocks border to aid

Venezuela's military is "on alert" against any border violations as it remains loyal to acting President Nicolas Maduro, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez has said. "The armed forces will remain deployed and on alert along the borders, as our commander in chief has ordered, to avoid any violations of territorial integrity," Padrino said in a statement on Tuesday.

Maduro, 56, faces calls to quit as his country struggles with shortages of food and medicine. Padrino said the military "only has one president," referring to Maduro, and the armed forces are "not mercenaries who sell themselves to the highest bidder." He said the army will not accept "a puppet government" or "orders from any foreign government power."

Juan Guaido, leader of the Venezuelan legislature, has declared himself acting president and is appealing to military leaders to switch allegiance to him.

He posted a series of tweets calling by name on senior military leaders commanding border posts to abandon Maduro, whom he has branded illegitimate over the socialist leader's disputed reelection last year.

He is backed by the United States and some 50 other countries.

But the military high command has maintained its allegiance to Maduro, a factor deemed key to keeping the acting president in power.

Humanitarian aid, including emergency food and medicine, is being stored in Colombia, Venezuela's neighbor to the west, and three Dutch Caribbean islands, namely Curacao, Aruba, and Bonaire. Venezuela has instituted a maritime and airspace ban on the three islands.

Guaido said he is organizing caravans through Brazil and the Colombian border city of Cucuta on Saturday to bring aid provided by the United States into the country. The opposition has claimed that 300,000 people face death without the aid, but Maduro has denied there is a humanitarian crisis in the country.

Maduro has claimed that the aid relief is a smokescreen for a US invasion of Venezuela, and has blamed US sanctions and "economic war" for Venezuela's crisis and fiscal woes.

On Monday, US President Donald Trump, who backs Guaido, warned the Venezuelan military not to continue supporting Maduro.