US vows ‘unwavering support’ for Guyana over invasion threat from Putin’s pal Maduro as Brazil deploys troops to border
AMERICA has vowed its "unwavering support" for Guyana after Putin's dictator pal Nicolás Maduro threatened to snatch more than half of the country and take its oil.
Guyana's tiny army is on full alert for an invasion from Venezuela, and Brazil also moved troops to the area amid fears a conflict could spill over the border.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Guyanese President Irfaan Ali late on Wednesday and reaffirmed the country's backing for Guyana's sovereignty, the State Department said.
Tensions between Venezuela and Guyana over the oil-rich region of Essequibo have been rising, as the 61,600-square-mile area makes up to over two thirds of Guyana's total land mass.
Maduro - a good friend of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin - has ambitions to seize the oil supplies in Essequibo.
A referendum took place in Venezuela on Sunday, which saw more than 95% of voters supporting the government's claim to Essequibo, reports.
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It comes as Brazil said it is also set to deploy troops to its border with Venezuela.
Some 28 armoured vehicles and around 150 soldiers will arrive at the country's northern border with Venezuela and Guyana in the coming weeks, Brazilian defence said.
A possible incursion by Venezuela into Guyana by land would necessarily have to pass through Brazil, which shares a border with both countries.
A source from Brazil's Military High Command told the referendum results prompted the deployment to avoid the conflict from bleeding into the country.
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"The goal is to send a message that our territory cannot be used for any type of operation," the insider said.
The measures are cause for concern across the region.
While Guyana has its troops on high alert, the Brazilian army has said that it is moving more soldiers to the border city of Boa Vista, the capital of Roraima state, as well as bringing in more armed vehicles.
The United States could be also drawn into war as Maduro looks poised to create chaos in America's backyard, with fears such a dispute could trigger an intervention by Washington.
The State Department is already mulling reimposing sanctions on Venezuela following Sunday's referendum.
And it was reported that the Guyana military has already contacted the US military about potential support.
Michael Rubin, Senior Fellow at public policy think tank American Enterprise Institute, has urged Joe Biden to send in soldiers now.
He wrote: "Maduro is testing Biden, just as Saddam tested Bush and Galtieri tested Margaret Thatcher.
"If Biden wants to stave off war, now is the time to send American troops to Guyana.
"Sometimes deterrence is necessary if diplomacy is to succeed."
Although part of the Commonwealth, the association has no military component and the UK would not be obligated to defend Guyana.
The UK may still choose to intervene or assist should Venezuela invade.
Maduro is a figure in Putin's tinpot empire of dictators and despots who want to attempt to unsettle the global order.
He has said he wants the "peaceful rescue" of the region which he described as "de facto occupied by the British Empire".
And now he has ordered his state-run oil company PDVSA to draw up maps for drilling in the region.
Maduro is also reported to have mobilised his military to Puerto Barima near the border with Guyana.
The Venezuelan president, who has been in power for a decade, got the victory he wanted at the weekend over whether to claim sovereignty over the territory.
In a move branded a "pretext for annexation" by Guyana, electoral authorities said 95 per cent of voters backed establishing a new state in Essequibo.
Just days after the vote, Maduro on Tuesday directed the country's state-owned companies to immediately begin to explore and exploit the oil, gas and mines in the region.
He also ordered the creation of local subsidiaries of Venezuelan public companies, including oil giant PDVSA and mining conglomerate Corporación Venezolana de Guayana.
The state companies will "immediately proceed to create the division PDVSA Esequibo and CVG Esequibo and immediately we'll proceed to give operating licenses for the exploration and exploitation of oil, gas and mines in our Guayana Esequiba," he said.
Guyanese President Irfaan Ali blasted Maduro's comments as a "direct threat" against his country, which has been a member of the Commonwealth since 1970.
He had appealed to the International Court of Justice, the United Nations' top court, which on Friday ordered Venezuela not to take any action to change the status quo until the panel can rule on the two countries competing claims, which could take years.
Ali said Maduro was showing "blatant disregard" for the ICJ ruling.
He added: "Guyana will be reporting this matter early in the morning.
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"We will write the UN Security Council and the court.
"The Guyana Defense Force is on high alert... Venezuela has clearly declared itself an outlaw nation."
