Venezuela orders ‘defensive’ military maneuvers amid ‘threat’ from British ship in Guyana

Venezuela has launched military maneuvers of a nature “defensive” in the border area of ​​neighboring Guyana, in response to the sending of a warship to the latter by the United Kingdom, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced on Thursday, December 28.

“All Bolivarian National Armed Forces [vénézuéliennes] in the Eastern Caribbean”, or some 5,600 Venezuelan soldiers, are mobilized, declared Nicolas Maduro. This initiative is presented as a “response to the provocation and threat from the United Kingdom”including the patrol boat HMS Trent will arrive in Guyana on Friday for military exercises.

Tension has been rising between Venezuela and Guyana since September over the Essequibo, an oil-rich region under Guyanese administration but coveted by Caracas for decades. Venezuela held a consultative referendum on December 3, during which 95% of voters said they were in favor of the integration of Essequibo into their country. The leaders of the two countries met on December 15 and mutually promised not to use force, but the dispute is not resolved.

Guyana has no “no intention of invading Venezuela”, reacted the vice-president of the country after Nicolas Maduro’s announcements. The arrival of the patrol boat HMS Trent enters the framework “long-planned routine exercises”added the manager.