In the last few years, the world became much more dangerous and geopolitically unstable, and suddenly, all over the world, long-recognized borders between states are being redrawn by force.
Take South America, for example – a region that is poor but relatively peaceful.
Although it did have seven military confrontations caused by territorial disputes in the Twentieth Century, peace has reigned in the last 30 years.
Not anymore.
The Venezuelan socialist dictatorship, emboldened by the feeble Biden regime in the US, and with a renewed partnership with Russia, soon began flexing its military muscles and issuing threats against its oil-rich neighbor Guyana.
Most people – even South Americans – know little to nothing about this former British colony, but recent oil discoveries turned Guyana into a very fast growing economy.
According to the IMF, Guyana’s real GDP growth in 2022 equaled 62.3 percent – the highest in the world — and continued to grow extremely fast in 2023 by 38 percent.
It is not surprising that all this prosperity would spark a jealous greed and awake territorial ambitions on the part of the Bolivarians in Venezuela.
While diplomatic negotiations are ongoing, military movements on the ground suggest a worrying escalation, according to satellite images.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a nonprofit policy research organization based in Washington, has released evidence showing that Venezuela is expanding military bases near the border with Guyana, as well as deploying forces to the jungle in the frontier region.
The Guardian reported:
“Christopher Hernandez-Roy, deputy director of CSIS’s Americas programme, said: ‘The same day that the Venezuelan foreign minister is meeting with Guyanese diplomats, the Venezuelan military is conducting tank drills just a stone’s throw from Guyana. All of this tells us Maduro is pursuing a duplicitous policy’.
Venezuela has long laid claim to the resource-rich Essequibo region, which makes up two-thirds of Guyana, but Maduro has ramped up the country’s claim to the disputed territory in recent months.”
Venezuela held a controversial vote in December, and Maduro alleges voters heavily supported the idea of annexing the vast swathe of jungle by force.
Venezuelan military has now sent tanks and missile-equipped patrol boats to the border.
“’This escalatory behavior on the part of Venezuela creates opportunities for miscalculation and loss of control over events on the ground’, CSIS warns in its report on the escalating dispute.”
Maduro reportedly wants to disregard the UN international court of justice in The Hague, and negotiate directly with Guyana.
“Analysts had seen Maduro’s sabre-rattling as a means to build support ahead of elections expected this year but have suggested it could also be an attempt to pressure Guayana into sharing revenue from recent oil discoveries.”
However, that Maduro may want to proceed with the use of military force cannot be entirely dismissed.
“’All of this suggests that Maduro may have originally had domestic reasons for what he is doing, but now the strategy is to compel the Guyanese into some sort of concessions’, Hernandez-Roy said.”
Meanwhile, the oil exploration in the Caribbean sea does not stop. American giant ExxonMobil plans to drill for oil and gas in an area where the Venezuelan military has in the past expelled two U.S. oil companies.
There is widespread concern that the move could escalate tensions and give Venezuela an excuse for more extreme actions.
Associated Press reported:
“The oil giant said Tuesday that it expects to drill two exploratory wells north and west of its prolific Stabroek block, where three oil fields are producing close to 650,000 barrels of oil a day.
The president of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge, told reporters that the concessions were granted by Guyana and that the company is committed to its operations despite the country’s ongoing tensions with Venezuela.
‘We are not going anywhere’, he said.
Previous attempts to explore for oil and gas in that area have failed. In 2019, ExxonMobil was forced to abandon exploration activities after a Venezuelan military helicopter tried to land on a seismic vessel. And in 2013, officials aboard a Venezuelan gunboat detained the crew of a seismic vessel contracted by a Texas petroleum company for a week before releasing them.”
The US has promised to help Guyana buy new aircraft, helicopters, a fleet of military drones and radar technology – but this revamp will not arrive in time to help with the present crisis.
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The post Powder Keg America: Maduro’s Venezuela Is Massing Troops and Military Equipment Near Guyana’s Border – Exxon Mobile To Start Drilling New Areas, May Escalate Tensions appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.