Venezuelan Opposition leader Juan Guaidó met with members of a multinational support group in Bogotá on Monday to hammer out a strategy to remove his rival Nicolás Maduro from office. The trip comes after two people were killed and hundreds wounded as Mr. Guaidó‘s supporters clashed with Venezuelan security forces in a failed attempt to cross in truckloads of humanitarian aid from Colombia and Brazil.
The European Union condemned Venezuela’s use of violence and armed civilians to block the aid entry, while United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said he was “shocked and saddened” by the civilian deaths. Some 50 countries recognise Mr. Guaidó as Venezuela’s legitimate President.
Mr. Guaidó flew to the Colombian capital on Sunday for the meeting with members of the Lima Group — 13 Latin American countries plus Canada that are seeking to resolve Venezuela’s political impasse. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he was confident that “Maduro’s days are numbered,” blaming the border violence on armed civilian loyalists known as “colectivos”.