“We think it’s going to enter,” opposition leader David Smolansky said in the lead up to the push. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said the military would “never have orders to fire on the civilian population” and likened the aid push to a media spectacle. The aid push comes on the heels of a giant concert organized by British billionaire Richard Branson aimed at pressuring Maduro to accept the aid. Opposition leaders are pushing forward in belief that whether Maduro lets the aid in or not, he will come out weakened. Analysts warn that there may be no clear victor and humanitarian groups have criticized the opposition as using the aid as a political weapon.

Source: Washington Post February 23, 2019 00:33 UTC