Venezuela Tensions: UK To Send Warship To South America

The UK is preparing to send a warship to Guyana in a show of diplomatic and military support for the former British colony, media report says.

It comes after neighbouring Venezuela renewed its claim for a disputed part of Guyanese territory that is rich in oil and minerals.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed HMS Trent would take part in joint exercises after Christmas.

Guyana, a Commonwealth member, is South America’s only English-speaking nation.

This raised fears that Venezuela might invade and spark the first interstate war in South America since the Falklands Conflict in 1982.

Venezuela has long claimed ownership of Essequibo, a 61,000 square mile region which comprises about two-thirds of Guyana.

Its hills and jungles are rich in gold, diamonds and bauxite, while huge oil deposits have been found off its coast.

While Guyana’s economy is growing fast, Venezuela’s is suffering.

The President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, staged a referendum on 3 December to assert popular support for his country’s claim to Essequibo.

The result was widely challenged and disputed but he nonetheless published new maps and legislation showing Essequibo as part of Venezuela, named a new governor and offered identity cards to those living in the sparsely populated region.

He has also ordered the state oil company to issue extraction licences.

Maduro has subsequently met Guyana’s President, Irfaan Ali, and agreed not to use force, but he has maintained his territorial claim and both sides are still at odds over how the border dispute could be settled legally.

BBC