Thousands of kilometers away, near a crossing with Brazil, a member of an indigenous tribe was killed and 22 more injured in clashes with security forces who enforced <person>Maduro</person>'s orders to keep out the aid.
Hours before the concert in Cucuta began, dozens of Venezuelans hiked across the border through high bushes on an unmarked trail. They carried ice boxes, snacks and water and whispered directions as they kept a close eye out for Venezuelan soldiers.
"This concert happens once in a lifetime," 19-year-old <person>Shirley Duran</person> said. "It will be a great opportunity for so many poor people who are suffering under the heat, who are hungry, jobless. At last they'll have something to enjoy."
British billionaire <person>Richard Branson</person> organized the "Live Aid Venezuela" concert, which featured dozens of Latin musicians performing on a bridge-side stage not far from where <person>Maduro</person>'s government has placed a giant shipping container and tanker to prevent the delivery of U.S.-supplied food and medical kits.
As Venezuela's political turmoil drags on, allies of <person>Guaido</person>, who the U.S. and dozens of other countries have recognized as Venezuela's rightful leader, are hoping the massive concert in Cucuta will set the stage for the smooth delivery Saturday of the aid and a turning point in their quest for a transitional government. The promised "humanitarian avalanche" is taking place exactly a month after <person>Guaido</person> declared himself interim president in an outdoor rally.