Tensions between Venezuela and Guyana over the mineral-rich Essequibo region have escalated in recent months, with a series of armed incidents along the border and growing evidence of organized crime fueling instability, according to a recent InSight Crime investigation.
To make matters more tense, the region is rich in mineral wealth that seems to offer the potential to ignite not only a binational standstill, but a geopolitical conflict with implications across the region. The area is currently administered by Guyana and claimed by Venezuela in a long-standing dispute being mediated by the International Court of Justice.
