No Possibility of Coup in Venezuela, Risk of External Meddling Remains - Caracas

Venezuelan Deputy Foreign Minister Ivan Gil has said in a statement that any resolution to the crisis in the country should be through a dialogue between the opposition and the government.

There is no possibility of a military coup, a national uprising in the country, but there is a threat of foreign intervention in Venezuela, Deputy Foreign Minister Ivan Gil told reporters.

He continued on by saying that Venezuela's oil industry is one of the country's main targets.

Venezuela is ready for a dialogue with the opposition and maintains in constant contact with its representatives, according to Ivan Gil.

The statements come amid a highly-tense situation surrounding the delivery of US humanitarian aid to the Latin American country.

On 21 February, Maduro announced the complete closure of the land border with Brazil, where another aid hub is situated. The president has not ruled out the possibility that the border with Colombia might be closed as well.

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who declared himself acting president in late January, has welcomed the delivery of the US aid to the country, citing the acute humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. According to the opposition, the assistance will enter the country on 23 February.

President Nicolas Maduro, for his part, has categorically rejected accepting aid that the United States has delivered to the Colombian border city of Cucuta, blaming Washington for trying to organise a coup in the country through a "muppet" Guaido and using humanitarian aid as one of the means to overthrow his government.