Brazil Vice President Hamilton Mourao on Thursday dismissed US threats of military intervention in Venezuela as "premature" and said it "wouldn't make sense."

"I think they're more in the realm of rhetoric than action," Mourao said, referring to the threats, in an interview with AFP.

"The Venezuela question needs to be resolved by Venezuelans."

Mourao's comments came after Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro announced earlier that the border with Brazil would be shut "completely and absolutely" until further notice from 8:00 pm.

But Mourao said that "doesn't signify an act of aggression."

"This reaction is simply a way to prevent the humanitarian aid process," he said, adding that Venezuela "has the right to whatever it wants on its side of the border."

President Jair Bolsonaro's spokesman Otavio Rego Barros also dismissed the possibility of Maduro's decision causing "frictions" between the neighbors.

Maduro's move came two days before a deadline set by opposition leader Juan Guaido for humanitarian aid stockpiled in Colombia, Brazil and the island of Curacao to be brought into Venezuela.

The self-proclaimed acting president, recognized as such by 50 countries, set out in a convoy of vehicles from Caracas towards the border with Colombia on Thursday to personally take charge of the aid entry.

A bridge border crossing between the two countries remains blocked by the military, though, with Maduro vowing not to let it in.

The embattled socialist leader also said on Thursday he was considering "a total closure of the border with Colombia."

The issue of aid has taken center stage in the power-struggle between Maduro and Guaido, the president of the opposition controlled National Assembly legislature.

Guaido has branded Maduro a usurper over his controversial reelection last May in polls boycotted by the opposition, many of whose leaders were unable to stand due to being imprisoned, barred or in exile.

The 35-year-old Guido wants to force out Maduro, 56, so he can set up a transitional government ahead of new elections.

Rival Venezuela concerts to take place 300-meters apart
Ure�a, Venezuela (AFP) Feb 20, 2019 - A music concert called by Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro will take place just 300-meters from a rival gig organized by billionaire Richard Branson in support of opposition leader Juan Guaido, an official said on Wednesday.

Maduro's concert was initially expected to take place some 15-kilometers away on the pedestrian Simon Bolivar international border bridge linking Venezuela to Colombia.

But instead, it will be held on the Tienditas bridge blocked by Venezuela's military, on Maduro's orders, to prevent Guaido from bringing in desperately needed humanitarian aid.

The two concerts will take place on Friday on either side of the border, although Maduro's will last until Sunday.

"What they do on the other side of the border is their problem," government official Dario Vivas told journalists at the bridge in Urena that connects to Cucuta in Colombia, where tons of mostly US aid is being stockpiled.

Branson's "Venezuela Live Aid" concert has announced an international list of stars including Spanish Grammy Award winner Alejandro Sanz and Puerto Rican Luis Fonsi, one half of the act that produced the song Despacito, which reached number one in the charts in 47 countries.

The line-up also includes Venezuelan stars Jose Luis Rodriguez and Nacho.

Organizers of Maduro's "Hands Off Venezuela" concert have yet to divulge its artist line-up.

Vivas said Branson's concert, which the British businessman hopes will raise $100 million of aid for Venezuela in 60 days, was a "provocation."

He said there would be free food distribution and medical assistance for Colombian citizens at border posts alongside the government's concert.

Venezuela's Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez claimed on Monday that 40 percent of Cucuta's population lives in poverty.

Guaido says 300,000 Venezuelans risk death if humanitarian aid isn't brought in and has vowed to break Maduro's blockade on Saturday.

Maduro has dismissed the aid issue as a "political show" and pretext to a US invasion.

Guaido has pleaded with the military, whose high command remains firmly behind Maduro, to defy the socialist leader and allow in the supplies.

Venezuela is wracked by a humanitarian crisis the opposition blames on Maduro's mismanagement.

After four years of recession, poverty is increasing while people face shortages of basic necessities.

The country is suffering from hyperinflation that has left salaries and savings practically worthless.

An estimated 2.3 million people have fled Venezuela since 2015.

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Venezuela 'on alert,' closes Curacao border ahead of aid shipment
Caracas (AFP) Feb 19, 2019
Venezuela's military said Tuesday it was on "alert" at its frontiers following threats by US President Donald Trump and ordered its border with Curacao closed ahead of a planned aid shipment. Opposition leader and self-declared interim president Juan Guaido vowed to bring aid in from various points Saturday "one way or another" despite military efforts to block it. But commanders doubled down on their allegiance to President Nicolas Maduro after Trump warned them to abandon him. "The armed f ... read more