Tensions in Venezuela escalated several weeks ago when Venezuelan opposition parliament speaker Juan Guaido declared himself interim president, disputing last year's re-election of Maduro. Guaido was almost immediately recognised by the United States and several other countries.

Thousands of people cross the Simon Bolivar bridge on the Colombian border on a daily basis, according to numbers provided by the Colombian immigration office.
The Venezuelan government insists that the country is not experiencing a humanitarian crisis, with President Nicolas Maduro, who believes Washington is responsible for staging a state coup, earlier slamming US assistance as a "political show".
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