Venezuelans throwing off the shackles of Communism."There is a feeling of optimism among many Venezuelans at the moment - an energy that has not existed in the country for a long time. And the hope that Saturday may be the start of a new path."

Venezuela aid: Genuine help or Trojan horse?

By Katy WatsonBBC South America correspondent, Caracas

• 22 February 2019

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• Venezuela crisis

Image copyrightAFP

Image captionThe opposition has planned to deliver foreign humanitarian aid on 23 February

In the humble neighbourhood of El Valle, in south-western Caracas, several hundred residents are gathered round in a community square, waiting for a meeting to start. 

One of the organisers picks up the microphone and starts addressing the crowd. 

"Why are you all here?" he asks them. "For Venezuela," they readily reply in unison before starting to sing the national anthem.

"Glory to the brave nation, which shook off the yoke," they all chant. "Off with the chains! Off with the chains!" 

The anthem may reference Venezuela's colonial history, but the wording is particularly fitting for today's politics too. 

Venezuelans are joining in the modern-day fight to shake off President Nicolás Maduro's administration, a government that many blame for strangling the economy and people's lives. 

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This meeting - and many similar events across the country - is being held ahead of a deadline set by opposition leader Juan Guaidó for humanitarian aid to be brought into the country from abroad. 

Mr Guaidó, head of the National Assembly and self-declared interim president, and his supporters are trying to gather a million volunteers. 

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