Venezuela accused the United Kingdom of provocation by announcing it would send a warship to take part in joint military exercises with neighboring Guyana, amid rising tensions between the two countries over a territorial dispute over Essequibo.
“Can a warship be separated at sea? What about a commitment to good neighborliness and peaceful coexistence? And an agreement not to threaten each other or use force under any circumstances?”, asked the Venezuelan defense minister on his X account this Sunday. [antigo Twitter].
On the same social network, Vladimir Padrino Lopez “We are alert to these provocations that threaten the peace and stability of the Caribbean and our America!“.
On Saturday, Venezuela's press published a BBC report that the United Kingdom was preparing to send a warship to Guyana in a gesture of support for the former British colony.
According to Venezuelan daily Últimas Notícias, the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense confirmed that the ship HMS Trent will take part in joint military exercises with Guyana after Christmas.
“HMS Trent will meet with our regional ally and partner in the Commonwealth of Guyana later this month as part of a series of events in the region during her deployment from Atlantic patrol,” the newspaper explained, citing statements from a UK ministry spokesperson. Security.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Juan Gil responded to the announcement and accused the United Kingdom of destabilizing the region.
“The former empire, invader and slave, illegally occupied the territory of Guyana Essequiba, acted maliciously and dishonestly against the interests of Venezuela, insisting to intervene in the territorial dispute it created,” he wrote on the social network X.
The announcement comes after London-based commercial insurer Lloyds added Guyana to its list of hazardous shipping zones.
On December 14, Guyana and Venezuela reached an agreement not to use force to resolve the Essequibo dispute and to use dialogue to reduce bilateral tensions.
The announcement was made at a press conference where Presidents of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro and Irfan Ali of Guyana read a statement on the agreements reached during their meeting in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
According to the statement, it stipulates that “Guyana and Venezuela shall not, directly or indirectly, threaten each other or use force against each other”.
“The countries agreed that any dispute between the two states would be settled in accordance with international law, including the Geneva Conventions of 17 February 1966”.
The Essequibo region, which appears on Venezuelan maps as a “zone under claim”, has been under UN mediation since the signing of the Geneva Conventions in 1966.
With an area of about 160,000 square kilometers, Essequibo is rich in oil, represents more than two-thirds of Guyana's land area and is home to one-fifth of its population, or about 125,000 people.
Venezuela's claim has become more pressing since ExxonMobil discovered oil in Essequibo in 2015, and tensions have risen since then.
For Venezuela, the Essequibo River should be the natural border, as it was in 1777 during the Spanish Empire. Guyana argues that the British colonial-era boundary was recognized by the Court of Arbitration in Paris in 1899.
Meanwhile, Guyana has already authorized eight foreign oil companies to explore for oil deposits in waters claimed by Venezuela.
On December 3, Venezuela held a consultative referendum in which more than 95% of the voters who participated voted in favor of the government's intentions to annex Essequibo to the Venezuelan maps.
Meanwhile, the Venezuelan president signed six decrees to recover Essequibo.
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