CARACAS, Venezuela: President Nicolas Maduro鈥檚 government barely missed a beat Monday in announcing plans for its own huge concert to rival one being organized by a billionaire backer of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido.
Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said the government will throw a concert Saturday and Sunday on Venezuela鈥檚 side of the border 鈥� opposite one in Colombia being spearheaded by Richard Branson, a British adventurer and founder of the Virgin Group.
Rodriguez did not announce the artists who are expected to perform, saying only that the concert would be massive.
鈥淧eople from all over the world want to take part in this message of love, solidarity and denunciation against the aggression that they鈥檙e trying against the Venezuelan people,鈥� Rodriguez said.
Branson told The Associated Press that he hopes the concert he is throwing will save lives by raising money for 鈥渕uch-needed medical help鈥� for crisis-torn Venezuela, which is suffering from hyperinflation and widespread shortages of food and medicine.
He said he is aiming to raise $100 million for suffering Venezuelans and open the borders to emergency aid. Up to 300,000 people are expected to attend Friday鈥檚 concert featuring Spanish-French singer Manu Chao, Mexican band Mana, Spanish singer-songwriter Alejandro Sanz and Dominican artist Juan Luis Guerra.
Branson said that it is not funded by any government and that all the artists are performing for free. The plan is to raise donations from viewers watching the concert on a livestream over the Internet.
鈥淰enezuela sadly has not become the utopia that the current administration of Venezuela or the past administration were hoping for, and that has resulted in a lot of people literally dying from lack of medical help,鈥� Branson said in a telephone interview from Necker, his private island in the British Virgin Islands. 鈥淚 think it will draw attention to the problem on a global basis.鈥�
The concert is being held in Cucuta, a Colombian border city of some 700,000 people that has been swollen by hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who have fled hardships in their homeland. The city is the staging point for foreign humanitarian aid 鈥� much of it from the US government 鈥� that is being blocked from entering Venezuela by Maduro鈥檚 socialist administration.
Branson said he hopes that Venezuela鈥檚 armed forces, until now loyal to Maduro, will allow the aid to reach Venezuelans.
鈥淲e want to make it a joyous occasion,鈥� Branson said in his first interview since he announced the concert on a brief video posted online last week. 鈥淎nd we鈥檙e hoping that sense prevails and that the military allows the bridge to be open so that much-needed supplies can be sent across.鈥�
He said he opposes trying to carry the aid in by force, but clearly favors Guaido in his standoff with Maduro.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 personally feel that force should be used at all by either side,鈥� he said.
鈥淚f 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,鈥� Branson said. 鈥淭hat hopefully will mean that Juan Guaido and his people will have a better chance to have another election where sense can prevail.鈥�
Guaido, who heads Venezuela鈥檚 opposition-controlled congress, declared himself interim president Jan. 23 with the backing of the United States and most South American and European nations, which argue that Maduro鈥檚 re-election last May was fraudulent. Guaido has announced that humanitarian aid will enter Venezuela on Saturday, the day after Branson鈥檚 concert.
Branson said the initiative follows his involvement with Live Aid and years of work with 鈥淭he Elders,鈥� a group of elder statesmen and political leaders that he helped establish to avoid conflict and assist in humanitarian situations.
鈥淚 talked to Juan Guaido, and the team, the people around him, to see what could be most helpful,鈥� Branson said. 鈥淎nd they said that the thing that Venezuela needed the most was medical help in particular, money to be raised to try to keep doctors and nurses in Venezuela, not leaving Venezuela, and just basic medical help.鈥�
Meanwhile, Guaido said the move by Maduro鈥檚 government to put on a rival concert was 鈥渄esperate.鈥�
鈥淭hey鈥檙e debating whether the aid should come in or not ... They don鈥檛 know what to do,鈥� Guaido said Monday. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e now making up a concert. How many concerts are they going to stage?鈥�
Venezuela鈥檚 information minister also said the government would distribute 20,000 boxes of subsidized food Saturday.
Maduro鈥檚 government has been providing people with deeply discounted boxes of cooking oil, flour and other items, while coming under accusations it is using food as a political tool.