Tension on Venezuela's borders boils over

CUCUTA, Colombia - A much-awaited day that the U.S.-backed Venezuelan opposition called crucial in its push to oust President Nicolas Maduro disintegrated Saturday into a chaotic series of running battles on border bridges, torched vehicles, scores of reported defections from Venezuelan security forces - and Maduro's decision to cut diplomatic relations with neighboring Colombia.

At least 285 people were reported injured along the Venezuela-Colombia border as Venezuelan riot police posted on bridges and in towns on the Venezuelan side fired volleys of tear gas and clashed with rock-throwing opposition activists seeking to tear down barriers and allow in trucks filled with aid, much of it from the United