Venezuela, Richard Branson Plan Dueling Concerts Along Colombian Border

With large amounts of US aid already flown to Cucuta, Colombia, and no sign it’s going to be let into Venezuela, there is expected to be an influx of funding for aid this weekend accompanying at least three competing concerts in the same city.

Billionaire Richard Brandon started the concert rush, announcing he is organizing a Friday show to raise money for food and medicine for Venezuela. Branson has intended to raise $100 million within 60 days from his Cucuta concert.

And that’s where the Venezuelan government, who insists they don’t need any aid, got involved. The Interior Ministry has since announced that they intend to hold two concerns of their own, one Friday and one Saturday, on the Simon Bolivar bridge connecting Cucuta to Venezuela.

The slogan of the government’s concerns will be “nothing for war, hands off Venezuela,” and they say they intend to hand out food aid to the poor of Cucuta. This led to criticism from Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who noted Venezuela’s own food shortages.