2023-12-24 23:15:00
The United Kingdom announced this Sunday sending a military ship to Guyanain a gesture of support for Venezuela’s territorial claims over the region of the Essequibowhich is rich in oil and minerals and represents two thirds of its surface.
“HMS Trent will depart this month for Guyana, our regional ally and Commonwealth partner. for a series of commitments in the region“said the British Ministry of Defense in a statement, in which it did not give further details.
Analysts minimize the impact of the meeting in Essequibo
London had already shown its support for Guyana with the trip earlier this week of David Rutley, head of British diplomacy in America. In that sense, the official reiterated that sovereign borders “must be respected” and that the United Kingdom would work internationally “to ensure that the territorial integrity of Guyana is respected.”
According to BBC, the ship must participate in military maneuvers following Christmas with other allies of Guyana, which was a British colony until 1966. However, the British network did not specify which other countries will collaborate in the mission.
The HMS Trent, which usually operates in the Mediterranean Sea, had already moved to the Caribbean at the beginning of December to fight drug trafficking. The ship has a crew of 65 people, a maximum speed of 24 knots (around 44 km/h) and a range of 5,000 nautical miles (more than 9,200 km). Additionally, she is armed with a 30mm cannon, a contingent of Royal Marines and can deploy Merlin helicopters and drones.
The vessel left its home port of Gibraltar in early December and is currently in Bridgetown, Barbados, for Christmas. The warship is expected to anchor off Guyana’s capital Georgetown and carry out visits, joint activities and training with the country’s navy and other allies as it cannot dock because the port is too shallow.
The ship is mainly used for combat piracy and smuggling, protect fisheries, counterterrorism, provide humanitarian aid and search and rescue operationsbut the Royal Navy explained that it is also designed for border patrols and defense diplomacy.
The territorial conflict between Guyana and Venezuela
The territorial conflict between the South American countries dates back to the 19th century, when in 1899 an arbitration court in Paris, defended from Georgetown, stipulated that Venezuela renounced Essequibo, although he later retracted it. For its part, Caracas relies on the 1966 Geneva Agreement signed between the United Kingdom (former colonial power of Guyana) and Venezuela, in which they recognized Essequibo as a disputed territory.
On December 3, Venezuela approved the annexation of Essequibo in a referendum. A few days later, the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, presented to the National Assembly an Organic Law for the creation of the state of Guayana Esequiba following the results of the referendum, which in the eyes of Caracas went from being consultative to binding.
Guyana increases security and turns to the United States to protect Essequibo
In that sense, Venezuela began legal maneuvers to create a Venezuelan province in Essequibo and ordered the state oil company to issue licenses to extract crude oil in the region. In response, Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali called the policies a “serious threat to international peace and security”.
Venezuela has claimed sovereignty over this 160,000 km2 territory for more than a century. But their claim intensified following the discovery of vast oil reserves in this region in 2015. Tensions between both countries increased following the referendum was held in Venezuela. Nevertheless, Maduro and Ali met on December 15where they managed to reduce tension and avoid any use of force, although they did not resolve their underlying differences.
After the meeting, the Venezuelan president asked extra-regional actors not to interfere in the controversy over the Essequibo territory. “It was decided that this matter was going to be discussed, to find solutions, within the framework of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) and within the framework of Caricom (Caribbean Community), it was there in the statement, so “No extra-regional actor comes to get their hands on this,” he urged.
The Venezuelan head of state made the call during a meeting with members of the Military High Command, commanders of the Strategic Comprehensive Defense Region (REDI) and the Comprehensive Defense Operational Zone (ZODI). “December 14 will be written in the history of Bolivarian Peace Diplomacy as a day of triumph of the truth of Venezuela before Latin America and the Caribbean, a day of triumph of our truth, of our libertarian vocation, of our unionist vocation, of our diplomatic capacity“, he emphasized regarding the meeting with his Guyanese counterpart, which he defined as intense.
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