Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido was mobbed by supporters, media and the ambassadors of allied countries as he returned to Caracas on Monday, defying the threat of arrest from embattled President Nicolas Maduro's regime.
Just before his arrival, US Vice President Mike Pence sent a warning to Maduro to ensure Guaido's safety.
"Any threats, violence, or intimidation against him will not be tolerated & will be met with swift response," Pence wrote on Twitter.
Thousands of flag-waving Venezuelans had already answered a call from Guaido, recognized as interim president by more than 50 countries, to take to the streets and protest against Maduro, whom he is trying to oust.
In a video shared on social networks, Guaido warned that if Maduro's government "tries to kidnap us ... it will be one of the last mistakes it makes."
The self-declared acting president added on Twitter that should he be detained, he has left "clear instructions to our international allies and parliamentary brothers."
Venezuelans held aloft flags, crosses and portraits of their young leader as they began pouring into the street to welcome him home.
Guaido left Venezuela 10 days ago in an unsuccessful bid to force through desperately needed humanitarian aid stockpiled in Colombia.
He then went on a tour of regional allies Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Ecuador.
Guaido's reappearance in Venezuela poses a direct challenge to socialist Maduro, who had said the opposition leader would face justice when he returned.
Maduro must decide whether to arrest Guaido for defying a travel ban -- thereby provoking strong international condemnation -- or allow him to enter unmolested, which would undermine his own authority, analyst say.
When he left Venezuela on February 23, Guaido said the military had helped him cross the border into Colombia, even though he was under a travel ban.
The high command has professed absolute loyalty to Maduro, however, and the military has blockaded the border to prevent the entry of humanitarian aid, supplied mostly by the United States.
Guaido has said some 300,000 people are at risk of death without those supplies of food and medicine.
Venezuela is in the midst of an economic upheaval after four years of recession.
Hyperinflation has obliterated salaries and savings, while 2.7 million people have fled the country since 2015, according to a UN estimate.
Guaido, who heads the opposition-led National Assembly, stunned the world on January 23 when he proclaimed himself Venezuela's acting president.
He acted after the legislature declared Maduro a usurper and illegitimate over his May 2017 re-election, which was widely criticized as fraudulent. Maduro's new term in office began on January 10.
Guaido wants to oust Maduro, set up a transitional government and call new elections.
Guaido "must return to Venezuela and continue to press internally, as the international support is enormous," Eufracio Infante, 64, a Venezuelan lawyer and history teacher, told AFP.
"We are facing a very delicate situation and every minute we are approaching an outcome we hope will not be catastrophic," he said.
Maduro enjoys strong support from Russia, which accuses Washington of interventionism, and China, which is concerned over the fate of billions of dollars in loans to Maduro's regime.
The socialist president warned last week that Guaido should "respect the law" and would have to "face justice" upon his return.
Guaido said last week he would defy "threats" as he was needed in his home country.
"The challenge has gone very far," political analyst Luis Salamanca told AFP. "If he comes in and they stop him, it will generate strong internal reaction as well as internationally. Maduro is at permanent risk."
European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini warned Maduro on Saturday that detaining Guaido would incur "a major escalation of tensions."
"Guaido has grown so much politically that they haven't been able to touch him, in the traditional ways ... which is to put him in prison or force him to flee the country, harass him," said Salamanca.
Separately, Chile's President Sebastian Pinera sharply criticized UN rights commissioner Michelle Bachelet -- Chile's president from 2006-2010 and 2014-2018 -- on Sunday for failing to condemn Maduro for human rights violations.
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