Venezuelans urged to surround bases

Opposition leader hopes military will allow aid to flow

BOGOTA, Colombia — Venezuela opposition leader Juan Guaido is asking followers to surround military bases Saturday to demand that the armed forces allow aid into the country — a provocative move that’s likely to inflame President Nicolas Maduro.

Guaido, the self-proclaimed interim president, told his 1.3 million followers in a series of tweets Wednesday to peacefully surround military installations “and demand the entry of humanitarian aid.”

“Senores of the (armed forces), you have three days to follow the orders of the president and put yourself on the right side of the constitution,” he wrote. “This aid is to save lives.”

The tactic comes as Guaido — backed by the United States, Colombia, Brazil and others — is asking hundreds of thousands of volunteers to defy Maduro and his military and head to the border this weekend and bring in food and medical supplies that have been donated to the country. A warehouse of largely U.S. aid is being stockpiled near the Colombian town of Cucuta.

And there are plans to have similar depots in Brazil and the Dutch island of Curacao.

Maduro says the aid push is illegal, unnecessary and tantamount to an invasion. He’s blocked one border bridge with Colombia, sent military to the frontier and has promised not to let any of the aid in. He has also suspended f lights and shipping from Curacao.

While Guaido has popular support and the backing of many in the international community, he’s failed to spark the mass military defections that many were expecting.

On Tuesday, Venezuela Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said Washington and others who want regime change in the country would have to achieve it “over our dead bodies.”