INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
By Cordelia Lynch, US correspondent, in Cucuta, Colombia On the Colombian border with Venezuela, a sense of giddy hope filled the air
The streets were thronging with people
Bands played drums, as street vendors loudly sold water
A sea of Venezuelan flags and faces old and young beamed with optimism.Hundreds of thousands of them descended on the bridge of hope - a
place that conversely has seen very little of that realised.This is where hundreds of tonnes of aid has sat in a warehouse - President
Nicolas Maduro's government is unwilling to allow it across.Now, the focus was on stage - a string of Latin American artists and the belief
they could raise enough money and goodwill to change the military's mind.Image:The concert was staged by Richard BransonAt the front of it
all stood billionaire businessman Richard Branson, addressing a large group of journalists.He had thrown together Venezuela Aid Live in just
a few weeks - inspired, he told me, by a phone call with the opposite leader Juan Guaido."We hope to draw attention to the situation in
Venezuela Babies are dying, old people are not being looked after and literally millions have left the country to find jobs
We will see if the the soldiers do the right thing and let the aid in," Sir Richard said.Branson: 'Concert will raise attention'But those
soldiers show no sign of losing their loyalty - whether through fear, respect or financial favours - they seem locked in.Everywhere in
Cucuta, there are whispers and rumours about what might happen at the weekend.It's meant to be the deadline for critical supplies - America
has flown in extra in advance.Mr Guaido managed to sneak in, defying a travel ban and promising to get more than a million people to help
him transfer the food and medicine people so desperately need.Image:Hundreds of thousands gathered for the eventBut Mr Maduro views this as
a US invasion and shows no sign of capitulating.As night fell, we were told Mr Guaido would be part of the relief effort as dawn broke on
Tienditas bridge, where trucks sit waiting to be filled.It is a risk for him and I met plenty of others, willing to take their own."I'll
fight them to the death if I have to," one woman told me with tears in her eyes.Another man defiantly exclaimed: "We'll show the world we're
against this dictatorship."Image:Merchandise for the Live Aid-style concertBut Mr Maduro could close the borders and his troops could easily
take a firm hand on anyone willing to threaten the status quo.This could be a crescendo, or just another chapter in false hope for those
desperate for change.But it's a moment so many are invested in and the world is watching.
