SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says he is ready for direct talks with Washington. His comments came just hours after President Trump declared on Monday he would not rule out sending U.S. troops into Venezuela. The White House has accused Maduro of running a drug cartel and has, in recent months, built up one of the largest U.S. military presence in the Caribbean in decades with nearly a dozen Naval warships now off Venezuela's coast. The buildup in tension has caused wide concern in the region, and NPR's Carrie Kahn has been reporting on this on the Colombia-Venezuela border. Hi, Carrie.
CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE: Hi, Scott.
DETROW: Let's start with where you are. You're on the border. What is the scene like there? What are people telling you?
KAHN: Well, I came here to the Colombian city of Cucuta. It's at the Venezuelan border. I can't get into Venezuela. I've been asking for a visa for months, and so far, the government has just said no. This is a very busy border crossing, a lot of commercial traffic. I just talked to this one woman. She was fearful of government reprisals, and she asked I only use her first name, Carina. She and her husband and their two kids come once a month to Cucuta here in Colombia to buy household products to sell back in Venezuela. She says since the U.S. threats have increased, no one is spending money at home.
CARINA: (Speaking Spanish).
KAHN: She says dollars have pretty much disappeared from the markets. People are hoarding their dollars and only buying essential goods, nothing else. And she says those who are buying, everything is so expensive now. I did see people leaving Venezuela and talked to some of them. They didn't want to give me their names or talk on mic. They were dragging big suitcases and carrying stuffed backpacks. And this other woman I did talk to, she was there helping her sister leave Venezuela. She was holding her little chihuahua, who had a little - cute, little pink vest on, and she said it's impossible to speak freely in Venezuela anymore. And she says she barely leaves her house.
DETROW: What about that big military buildup we were talking about? Are people talking about that? What are they saying?
KAHN: Many people told me they weren't that worried because they believe - this is what they were saying - that Trump just wants to get rid of the government and won't hurt the people of Venezuela. That's their perception. If any bombing or attacks happen, it would be in the capital. We don't know what Trump's plans are or what the likely targets could be. I did talk to this one woman. She runs a shelter for Venezuelan migrants near another border town, Pamplona. Her name's Marta Duque, and she told me that she has seen an increase of people coming over in the last two weeks. She said they're families and that their relatives abroad have been urging them to leave Venezuela and come join them in Colombia and other countries, including the U.S.
MARTA DUQUE: (Speaking Spanish).
KAHN: She says their families tell them it's better to come where they will be safe until all this passes because she says we don't know when or what the United States has planned. She did add, she was very thankful to President Trump for standing up to Maduro.
DETROW: And at the same time, Carrie, opposition leader Maria Carina Machado released what she is calling a freedom manifesto today. What's in it?
KAHN: Videos of her in English and Spanish have been circulating today widely on social media. She declares in the video what she says was taped at an undisclosed location inside Venezuela that a new era is coming for her country.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MARIA CORINA MACHADO: This regime's long and violent abuse of power is ending. A new Venezuela is emerging from the ashes, renewed in spirit and united in purpose.
KAHN: Machado says she has a plan for the first 100 hours and 100 days after Maduro lose (ph) power, but she didn't give any details about that.
DETROW: That is NPR's Carrie Kahn joining us from the Colombia-Venezuela border. Carrie, thank you for your reporting.
KAHN: You're welcome.
(SOUNDBITE OF POST MALONE SONG, "CHEMICAL") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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