Venezuela's crisis hits stand-still over emergency aid

Meanwhile, Guaido took to Twitter late on Monday to call on his supporters to take to the streets on Tuesday and call on Maduro to let "humanitarian aid" into the country.

Humanitarian aid sent by the U.S. recently arrived in the Colombian city of Cucuta at the border with Venezuela, but Maduro has refused to let in the shipments.

"I hope there will be respect for worldwide law and the Central Bank of Venezuela", said Maduro, who is under huge global pressure to leave power so self-proclaimed acting president Guaido can set up a transitional government and hold new elections.

Last week, the United States and other regional contributors sent three humanitarian aid convoys to checkpoints in Colombia and Brazil bordering Venezuelan territory intended for Venezuelans and Venezuelan refugees fleeing the country.

The struggle now centers on emergency food and medicine from the United States warehoused on the Colombian border town of Cucuta.

Maduro has presided over a massive economic crisis, with inflation expected to reach 10 million per cent this year and large numbers of people suffering from acute shortages of food and medicine. Colonel Paz, a doctor, urged soldiers to help the aid get into Venezuela.

Guido's self-declaration was immediately recognized by the administration of US President Donald Trump, which also announced sanctions on Venezuela's oil industry to funnel income from the country's main oil exporter to Guaido.

Washington has said it will turn over control of those resources to Guaido once Maduro has been removed from power.

Lester Toledo, head of Guaido's aid distribution team, told reporters that the Roraima center would start receiving supplies next week.

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Both sides signed an agreement that focuses on North Korea's denuclearization effort, though it was short on details. Biegun agreed with his North Korean counterpart Kim Hyok Chol to hold further talks ahead of the event, it added.

The legislative body's chairman, Juan Guaido, has declared himself interim president of Venezuela, challenging Maduro's rule. "We have spoken very clearly and we are on a road of hope, of change that is getting closer", he said.

Mr Maduro said he would block humanitarian aid into Venezuela as it would justify intervention from the US.

"This a crime against humanity, men of the armed forces", Guaido said Sunday.

Juan Guaidó is touring Venezuela this week, meeting with journalists and citizens.

However, he stressed that in order to be impartial, holding elections will take time.

Amoroso alleged Guaido has "received money from worldwide entities without any type of justification". Many people fear the opposition will run out of steam, that it will not be able to keep up the pressure on the streets or that the global community will soon turn to another trouble spot if it sees no development in Venezuela. We want to keep our journalism open and accessible and be able to keep providing you with news and analyses from the frontlines of Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.

While keen on papal mediation, Maduro was less impressed last week when a group of European and Latin American ministers called for new presidential elections, accusing them of bias.

Mr Guaido called the move "almost genocidal".