IN THE SPOTLIGHT
the bridge to be open so that muchneeded supplies can be sent across.”
He said he opposes bringing the aid in by force, but clearly favors opposition leader Juan Guaido in his standoff with Maduro.
“I don’t personally feel that force should be used at all by either side,” he said.
“If they (Venezuelan troops) stop the aid coming through and there are pictures of hundreds of thousands of people wanting to come through from both sides, that will send out a potent message, a very powerful message to Venezuela, to everybody, that there is aid that is trying to get across, but the army is stopping it,” he said. “That hopefully will mean that Juan Guaido and his people will have a better chance to have another election where sense can prevail.”
Guaido declared himself interim president of Venezuela on Jan. 23 with the backing of the United States and most South American and European nations who argue that Maduro’s reelection was fraudulent. He has announced that humanitarian aid will enter Venezuela on Saturday, the day after Branson’s concert.
Branson said the initiative follows his involvement with Live Aid and years of work with “The Elders,” a group of elder statesmen and political leaders that he helped establish to avoid conflict and assist in humanitarian situations.