The United States on Monday requested an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council on Venezuela after violence erupted at the weekend over an opposition bid to bring in humanitarian aid, diplomats said.
The meeting is expected to take place on Tuesday and be held in open session, according to diplomats.
Four people died in clashes at the weekend on Venezuela's border with Brazil between security forces and civilians seeking to bring in aid. Several hundred more were injured in violence at the borders with Colombia and Brazil.
US Vice President Mike Pence traveled to Colombia on Monday and told opposition leader Juan Guaido that "we are with you 100 percent."
The United States is leading a push to recognize Guaido, backed by about 50 countries including Britain, France, Germany and several Latin American nations such as Brazil, Argentina and Colombia.
Russia and China, however, continue to back President Nicolas Maduro, setting up a global split that has left the United Nations in a quandary.
Venezuela's economy is in a tailspin marked by hyperinflation and shortages of basic necessities that the opposition blames on corruption and mismanagement by the Maduro government.
Millions of Venezuelans have been left struggling with poverty, while 2.7 million have fled the country since 2015, unleashing a migration crisis in South America.
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