The United States announced joint military flight drills in Guyana on Thursday as soaring tensions over a contested oil-rich region with neighbour Venezuela prompted the UN Security Council to call an urgent meeting.
"In collaboration with the Guyana Defence Force, the US Southern Command will conduct flight operations within Guyana on December 7," the American embassy in Guyana said in a statement, noting the flights are part of "routine engagement" to enhance a security partnership between the two countries.
A border feud has recently spiralled over the oil-rich Essequibo region, controlled by Guyana for more than a century but which Venezuela also claims and has voiced intent to take over.
The long-running dispute over Essequibo, which comprises some two-thirds of Guyanese territory, has intensified since ExxonMobil discovered oil there in 2015.
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez on Thursday denounced the US-Guyana military flight drills as a "provocation".
"This unfortunate provocation by the United States in favor... of ExxonMobil in Guyana is another step in the wrong direction. We warn that we will not be diverted from our future actions for the recovery of the Essequibo," he said on X.
Essequibo is home to 125,000 of Guyana's 800,000 citizens.
'We do not need war'
Litigation is pending before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague over where the region's borders should lie.
The United Nations Security Council will meet behind closed doors Friday to discuss rising border tensions between Guyana and Venezuela, following a request from Guyana, according to an official schedule.
In a letter seen by AFP, Guyana's Foreign Minister Hugh Todd asked the council's president to "call urgently for a meeting" to discuss the dispute over Essequibo.
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Thursday he was following developments between Guyana and Venezuela with "growing concern".
Lula suggested at a Mercosur summit that multilateral bodies such as ECLAC and UNASUR should contribute to a peaceful solution. "We do not want and we do not need war in South America," the leftist leader said.
The Brazilian army said Wednesday it was reinforcing its presence in the northern cities of Pacaraima and Boa Vista as part of efforts "to guarantee the inviolability of the territory".
A ‘direct threat'
A border feud has been spiraling over the Essequibo region administered by Guyana for over a century but also claimed by Venezuela, which is now seeking to bring the area under its rule.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has raised the pressure in recent days after gaining overwhelming support in a referendum on Essequibo's fate that was held Sunday.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a phone call Wednesday with Guyanese President Irfaan Ali reaffirmed the United States' "unwavering support for Guyana's sovereignty" and called for a peaceful resolution.
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.
On Tuesday, Maduro proposed a bill to create a Venezuelan province in Essequibo and ordered the state oil company to issue licenses for extracting crude in the region.
The president also gave an ultimatum to oil companies working under concessions issued by Guyana to halt operations within three months.
Ali called Maduro's statements a "direct threat" against his country.
Guyana's armed forces were on "alert," Ali added in a rare address to the nation late Tuesday, and were in contact with "partners" including the United States.
On Wednesday, a Guyanese army helicopter with seven people on board was reported missing near the border, but an official said there was "no information to suggest that" Venezuela had been involved.
Venezuela on Wednesday also confirmed it had arrested an American citizen -- Savoi Jadon Wright -- on accusations of "conspiring" with ExxonMobil to stop the referendum. US media said the arrest happened on October 24.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, Reuters)
