The US is sending food and medical supplies to Colombia's border with Venezuela where it will be stockpiled until it can be delivered to the economically shattered nation, US officials say.
One official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the aid will be pre-positioned at the main Colombian-Venezuelan border crossing at Cucuta.
It is unclear how the supplies will get into Venezuela without the blessing of President Nicolas Maduro and co-operation of the Venezuelan military, which has remained loyal to the socialist leader and is stationed on the Venezuelan side of the border.
The US officials said trucks carrying the humanitarian aid were headed to Cucuta and would arrive later this week at the request of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who last month declared himself to be the South American nation's interim president.
Prepositioning aid in warehouses or in truck convoys at border posts for weeks, or sometimes months, is common while officials negotiate the safe passage of humanitarian supplies to those in need.
In countries like Myanmar, South Sudan and Syria, aid has often been stockpiled as sides negotiated the terms of allowing aid into areas.
Pressure is growing on Maduro to step down after more than a dozen European Union nations, including Britain, Germany and France, on Monday joined the United States, Canada and a group of Latin American countries in recognising Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate leader.
However Russia, China and Turkey continue to back Maduro, accusing Western nations of meddling in Venezuela's internal affairs.
The 35-year-old Guaido, the head of Venezuela's National Assembly, has galvanised the opposition with a hopeful message. He has repeatedly called on Venezuela's military, which has remained loyal to Maduro, to support a transition to democracy.
So far, Maduro has rejected foreign aid. "We are not beggars. You want to humiliate Venezuela, and I will not let our people be humiliated," he said on Monday.
