Venezuela ensures border protection

Venezuelan Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez said on Wednesday that the country's internal order and proper protection of its borders are guaranteed.

Rodriguez made the remarks at a news conference when she was asked about whether incidents will occur during political and social activities slated for Saturday on the border with Colombia.

She also announced the government's decision to suspend aerial and maritime communications with the neighboring islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao.

Venezuela's opposition has proposed, with the support of the United States, to bring into the country the alleged humanitarian aid on Saturday, which is being stored on the Colombian side of the border.

In addition, near the Colombian city of Cucuta, a concert is being organized to seek humanitarian help for Venezuela.

"What will happen this weekend is a concert of love, non-interventionism, with dozens of national and international artists who will come to support peace in our country," Rodriguez said.

"The first thing I would tell (US) President Donald Trump is that his coup attempt in Venezuela failed, and even his own media are beginning to tell him that," the vice-president said.

She reiterated that the way out of the crisis is through dialogue and said Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza "has a very important and lengthy meeting with the European Union and Uruguay contact group."

"There is a minority of world governments that intends to become hegemonic through force, but the only power we recognize is the power of international law," she added.

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido had planned to head for the border with Colombia to personally bring in US-supplied food and medicine in defiance of government, raising fears of possible weekend confrontations.

Xinhua, AP and Reuters contributed to this story.

(China Daily 02/22/2019 page12)