This border city, already grappling with a mounting migration crisis, is bracing for a tense showdown that will likely mark a new chapter in the unfolding crisis of its neighbor, Venezuela.
US military planes continue a buildup of humanitarian aid on the Venezuelan border, a development spotlighted Sunday in an appearance by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. More than 100,000 people are expected at a foreign-organized concert here on Friday to protest the Venezuelan government. And on Saturday, Venezuelan opposition figures with U.S. backing plan to lead thousands of protesters, dressed in white, to the border to confront the country’s national guard.
All of this has made Cucuta, a city of 750,000 people overwhelmed by the massive Venezuelan migration that has flowed over its border for years, very nervous.