Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó arrives in Colombia, defying travel ban and risking arrest upon return

Venezuelan soldiers opened fire Friday on a group of civilians attempting to keep open a segment of the southern border with Brazil for deliveries of humanitarian aid, causing two fatalities and multiple injuries, according to eyewitnesses and community leaders.

The violence unfolded as the United States and the government of embattled President Nicolás Maduro defused at least one immediate source of tension — a looming deadline on Monday for all U.S. and Venezuelan diplomats to depart Caracas and Washington, respectively. The agreement bought both sides more time to negotiate a longer-term diplomatic presence after the rupture of official relations last month.

Later Friday, Juan Guaidó, the head of the Venezuelan opposition who has claimed the nation’s mantle of legitimate leadership and called Maduro a “usurper,” made a surprise appearance in the border city of Cucuta, Colombia, after a secretive trip by land from Venezuela’s capital, Caracas. His arrival to assist in the effort to cart humanitarian aid across the border smacked of an embarrassment for Maduro.

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