Venezuela's Fight for the Border

Venezuela's President Nicoals Maduro is blocking the U.S.-backed aid that is meant to weaken his control over the country and to enhance the standing of opposition leader Juan Guaido, who is recognized by more than 50 countries as the nation’s legitimate ruler.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s forces fired tear gas and buckshot on activists trying to deliver humanitarian aid in violent clashes that left two people dead and some 300 injured.

Demonstrators run from tear gas fired by Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guards in Urena, Venezuela, near the border with Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Demonstrators set up a burning barricade during clashes with the Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guard in Urena, Venezuela, near the border with Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

A street vendor chants anti-government slogans in San Antonio del Tachira, Venezuela, near the border with Colombia, Friday, Feb. 22, 2019. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

A demonstrator tries to stop the violence as she stands in front of a line of Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guard officers during clashes in Urena, Venezuela, near the border with Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Masked anti-government protesters gather a few blocks from the border bridge in Urena, Venezuela, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, where Venezuelan soldiers continue to block humanitarian aid from entering. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Opposition demonstrators take a selfie at the site where a torched bus is used as a barricade, during clashes with the Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guard in Urena, Venezuela, near the border with Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

A demonstrator is given first aid after he was injured in the face during clashes with the Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guard in Urena, Venezuela, near the border with Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Colombian police escort a Venezuelan soldier who defected at the Simon Bolivar international bridge in Cucuta, Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

An opposition demonstrator rests after clashing with the Bolivarian National Guard in Urena, Venezuela, near the border with Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Demonstrators push a bus that was torched during clashes with the Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guard in Urena, Venezuela, near the border with Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

A man is detained during clashes with the Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guard in Urena, Venezuela, near the border with Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Bolivarian National Guards sit inside a truck at the entrance of the Tienditas International bridge that connects Venezuela with Colombia, in Urena, Venezuela, Feb. 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Protestors bring down the Venezuelan national flag at the border between Brazil and Venezuela, in Pacaraima, Roraima state, Brazil, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

A woman moves away from the flames of a burning bus after it was pushed away during clashes with the Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guard in Urena, Venezuela, near the border with Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

A demonstrator holds a gasoline bomb as he crouches in the window frame of a recently destroyed bus during clashes with the Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guard in Urena, Venezuela, near the border with Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Opposition protesters face off with Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guards in Urena, Venezuela, near the border with Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Opposition demonstrators clash with the Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guards in Urena, Venezuela, near the border with Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

An opposition protester wears the Spanish message on his forehead: "Humanitarian aid now" during a demonstration urging soldiers to allow the entry of U.S. humanitarian aid in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

A demonstrator falls after getting caught by barbed wire during clashes with the Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guard in Urena, Venezuela, near the border with Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

A Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guard officer throws a teargas grenade at demonstrators in Urena, Venezuela, near the bordr with Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Demonstrators push away a bus that was torched during clashes with the Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guard in Urena, Venezuela, near the border with Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

People move away from tear gas during clashes between opposition demonstrators and the Venezuela Bolivarian National Guard in Urena, Venezuela, near the border with Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Demonstrators move a torched bus during clashes with the Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guard in Urena, Venezuela, near the border with Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Venezuelan youth clash with Venezuelan National Guard next to a semi-trailer that was part of a humanitarian aid convoy that failed to cross the Francisco de Paula Santander international bridge in Cucuta, Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Colombian army snipers cover the Venezuela Aid Live concert on the Colombian side of the Tienditas International Bridge near Cucuta, Colombia, on the border with Venezuela, Friday, Feb. 22, 2019. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

A youth holds a Venezuelan flag during the Venezuela Aid Live concert on the Colombian side of Tienditas International Bridge on the outskirts of Cucuta, Colombia, on the border with Venezuela, Friday, Feb. 22, 2019. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Gusi, left center, and Santiago Cruz, far right, hold a Venezuelan national flag as they perform with Carlos Vives at the Live Aid Venezuela concert at the Tienditas International Bridge on the outskirts of Cucuta, Colombia, Friday, Feb. 22, 2019, on the border with Venezuela. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

A young woman is carried across the Tachira River at the border between Venezuela and Colombia to attend the Venezuela Aid Live concert in Palotal, Venezuela, Friday, Feb. 22, 2019. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Venezuela's self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido arrives at the Venezuela Aid Live concert on the Colombian side of the Tienditas International Bridge near Cucuta, Colombia, on the border with Venezuela, Friday, Feb. 22, 2019. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

People begin to fill the Venezuela Aid Live concert on the Colombian side of the Tienditas International Bridge on the outskirts of Cucuta, Colombia, on the border with Venezuela, Friday, Feb. 22, 2019. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Joyce Brito is tended to by emergency room personnel after she was wounded in the chin during clashes with the Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guard in Urena, Venezuela, near the border with Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

A demonstrator throws a stone at a Venezuelan military post at the border between Brazil and Venezuela, in Pacaraima, Roraima state, Brazil, Saturday, Feb.23, 2019. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guards patrol on motorcycles clashes with protesters in Urena, Venezuela, near the border with Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Demonstrators take cover behind a torched bus, during clashes with the Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guard in Urena, Venezuela, near the border with Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

A woman carries a cross amid tear gas during clashes between the opposition and the Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guard in Urena, Venezuela, near the border with Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Demonstrators prepare gasoline bombs during a protest at the border between Brazil and Venezuela, in Pacaraima, Roraima state, Brazil, Saturday, Feb.23, 2019. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

Venezuela's Bolivarian National Guards block the border between Brazil and Venezuela, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

Demonstrators stand on a torched bus during clashes with the Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guard in Urena, Venezuela, near the border with Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

People run for cover from tear gas launched by Venezuela's National Guard as they try to clear the barricaded Simon Bolivar international bridge in Cucuta, Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

A demonstrator stands on a barricade with a gasoline bomb during clashes with the Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guard in Urena, Venezuela, near the border with Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Neighbors clean the streets a day after clashes between anti-government protesters and the Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guard in Urena, Venezuela, near the border with Colombia, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Photos by AP photographers Fernando Vergara, Rodrigo Abd, Fernando Llano and Ariana Cubillos in Venezuela and Colombia.

Edited by AP Global Enterprise Photo Editor Enric Marti in New York.