Venezuela reopens maritime border with Dutch Antilles -military

Venezuelan authorities have reopened the country's maritime border with the Dutch Antilles islands a day after closing it, a regional military commander told Reuters on Wednesday. General Miguel Morales Miranda, second-in-command for the state of Falcon, did not give a reason for the change, which now allows boats and aircraft to travel between Venezuela and the islands of Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire.

On Tuesday a regional navy chief told Reuters that Venezuelan authorities had closed the border. Opposition leader Juan Guaido, who has been recognized by dozens of countries as the legitimate head of state, has said that food and medicine provided in part by the United States would enter Venezuela by land and sea on Saturday.

President Nicolas Maduro's government has pledged to block offers of foreign aid, denying widespread shortages and insisting the country's economic problems are the result of sanctions by Washington. The United States has sent tons of aid to Colombia's border with Venezuela, an effort Maduro has mocked as a "cheap show."

Maduro retains the backing of Russia and China and control of state institutions including the military. Also on Wednesday, Guaido said he spoke to the president of Switzerland to try to freeze bank accounts belonging to Venezuela after "irregular movements" were discovered. (Reporting by Mircely Guanipa Writing by Angus Berwick and Meredith Mazzilli Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and David Gregorio)