Brazil urges 'restraint' as Venezuela, Guyana tensions soar

BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil on Friday called for “restraint” as tensions flared in a territorial dispute between Venezuela and Guyana, with Caracas launching a major military exercise near the contested, oil-rich Essequibo region.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday ordered thousands of troops to join the “defensive” exercise near the Guyana border, in response to Britain sending a warship to the area.

“The Brazilian government is following the latest developments in the dispute surrounding the Essequibo region with concern,” said a statement from the foreign ministry. “The Brazilian government believes military demonstrations of support to either party should be avoided so that the ongoing dialogue process can produce results.”

Britain said Sunday it would divert the patrol vessel HMS Trent to Guyana, a former British colony, “as part of a series of engagements in the region during her Atlantic patrol task deployment.”

A Guyana foreign ministry source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP the ship was due to arrive Friday and would be in its territory for “less than a week” for open sea defense exercises. The ship will not dock in Georgetown.

Maduro claims that Essequibo — which makes up about two-thirds of Guyana’s territory — is actually Venezuelan land, a decades-old contention that has flared since massive oil deposits were found in its waters.

The dispute is being [heard](https://www.courthousenews.com/days-ahead-of-border-dispute-referendum-uns-top-court-tells-venezuela-not-to-worsen-situation/(opens in a new tab)) at the International Court of Justice in the Hague, though Venezuela claims it doesn’t recognize the court’s authority.

Maduro’s government held a controversial referendum on Dec. 3 in which 95 percent of voters, according to officials, supported declaring Venezuela the rightful owner of Essequibo.

He has since started legal maneuvers to create a Venezuelan province in Essequibo and ordered the state oil company to issue licenses for extracting crude in the region.

The rising tensions have raised fears in the region of a potential conflict over the remote area of 160,000 square kilometers (62,000 square miles).

Guyana, a former British and Dutch colony, insists the Essequibo frontiers were determined by an arbitration panel in 1899.

But Venezuela claims the Essequibo River to the region’s east forms a natural border recognized as far back as 1777.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has emerged as a peace broker of sorts, determined to prevent the current war of words over the disputed Essequibo region from escalating into something deadlier.

“If there’s one thing we don’t want, it’s a war in South America,” he said earlier this month.

The Brazilian statement called for both parties to respect an agreement reached after Maduro and Guyana President Irfaan Ali met in the Caribbean, where they vowed not to resort to force to settle the dispute.

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by Agence France-Presse