Arrival of British warship in Guyana waters escalates tensions with Venezuela

A persisting territorial dispute between Guyana and Venezuela over the oil-rich Essequibo region has escalated as a British warship provocatively just arrived in Guyana waters.

The United Kingdom’s Royal Navy patrol vessel HMS Trent arrived in Guyana waters on Friday as London justified the move “as part of a series of engagements in the region during her Atlantic patrol task deployment.”

The disputed region has been controlled by Guyana, a former British and Dutch colony, for more than a century, but Venezuela also claims sovereignty over it which comprises some two-thirds of Guyanese territory.

The 160,000 square km (61,776 square miles) territory around the Esequibo River has found significance in recent years, after the discovery of offshore oil and gas by US energy company ExxonMobil. The maritime border between the two countries is also in dispute.

Caracas has already launched a major military exercise in response to what it termed an “unacceptable” threat.

A day prior to the arrival of the British warship, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in response to Britain’s provocative decision to show of support to its former colony, ordered more than 5,600 troops to join what he called a “defensive” exercise in the vicinity of the Guyana border.