(Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido is bound for Caracas and confrontation. When he arrives to continue his drive to unseat strongman President Nicolas Maduro, he risks arrest.

Guaido said in an audio recording posted to Twitter on Monday morning that he was on his way home from a weeklong regional tour in which he tried to consolidate support to oust Maduro, whose regime has beggared the country and persecuted its enemies. Guaido said he would arrive within hours, but didn’t say where or how.

Guaido, who leads the opposition-dominated National Assembly, called on supporters to take to the streets on today’s carnival holiday to demand that Maduro step down.

“Upon my arrival, whatever the route the dictator takes, we will continue,” he said in the recording.

It’s unclear whether Maduro’s security forces will arrest Guaido for ignoring a travel ban, which he violated last month when he secretly crossed the border into Colombia to oversee a delivery of aid provided by the U.S. The effort failed, and sparked vicious fighting at border crossings.

Heightened Conflict

The U.S. and dozens of allies say the Maduro government is illegitimate, and recognize Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president. America has threatened “a strong and significant response” if Guaido comes to any harm.

Since Guaido declared himself the nation’s rightful leader in January, the U.S. has taken an increasingly hard line against Maduro’s government in a high-stakes bid to unseat him. The U.S. has intensified financial and oil sanctions intended to drive Maduro out of office by depriving him of hard currency. But those punishments have also led to warnings that the nation of 30 million may be nearing a famine as it loses its ability to pay for food imports.

Last week, Guaido met U.S. Vice President Mike Pence in Bogota, then traveled to Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Ecuador to meet leaders of those countries. They all back his push to unseat Maduro, who is widely suspected of having stolen elections last year.

Despite his international support, Guaido’s position inside Venezuela is more precarious. The top military brass has so far stayed loyal to Maduro, who remains in control of other key institutions such as the supreme court.

Russia, China and Turkey still back Maduro’s government, though future financial support from those countries is a question mark and will be key to Maduro’s staying power.

To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Rosati in Caracas at arosati3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Matthew Bristow at mbristow5@bloomberg.net, Stephen Merelman, Paula Dwyer

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