In jab at Maduro, Guaido makes triumphant return to Venezuela

CARACAS, Venezuela, (Reuters) - Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido returned to his country yesterday after flouting a court-imposed travel ban by touring Latin American countries to boost support for his campaign to tighten regional pressure on President Nicolas Maduro.

A crowd of cheering supporters greeted Guaido and his wife as they stepped into the Maiquetia airport’s arrivals hall, and then sped to an opposition rally in eastern Caracas where thousands had gathered to welcome him.

The return of Guaido, recognized by most Western nations as Venezuela’s legitimate head of state, signals that Maduro’s adversaries have at least temporarily avoided the arrest of a leader who has united the traditionally fractured opposition.

But it will also lift pressure on Maduro to act against Guaido as his authority continues to wane and the country’s economic meltdown fuels malnutrition and hunger.

“Hope has been born and it will not die - things are going well,” Guaido told the crowd at a plaza in the Las Mercedes district. “We are going to celebrate this small victory today.”

He announced plans to meet on Tuesday with public employees, who have been historically pressured by the ruling Socialist Party to join pro-government rallies, as well as for a major march on Saturday.

Guaido secretly left Venezuela for Colombia, in violation of a Supreme Court order, to coordinate efforts there on Feb. 23 to send humanitarian aid into Venezuela to alleviate widespread shortages of food and medicine.

But troops blocked convoys of aid trucks sent from Colombia and Brazil, leading to clashes that killed at least six people along the Brazilian border, rights groups say.