The Minister of Defense of Venezuela, Vladimir Padrino López, rejected this Thursday the overflight of two American planes in Georgetown, the capital of Guyana, and its surroundings, which he described as “repeated provocations” by the United States Southern Command.
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“The Bolivarian National Armed Force forcefully rejects these repeated provocations by the Southern Command, sponsored by the Government of Guyana, which has assumed the role of a new North American colony,” he expressed. Godfather Lopez through X.
On April 13, the Government of Venezuela “strongly” rejected a recent oil production license granted by Guyana to the American company ExxonMobil in “undelimited” maritime areas, which may “compromise resources” that Caracas considers its own.
The conflict reached its peak after Venezuela held a unilateral referendum on December 3 in which it approved annexing the territory in question, and the Government of Nicolás Maduro ordered the settlement of a military division near the area, among other measures. .
Likewise, it reported on its website that the Director of Strategy, Policy and Plans of the US Southern Command, Julie Nethercot, visited Guyana from May 6 to 8 to oversee “strategic planning, policy development and coordination of security cooperation for Latin America and the Caribbean”.
“The Government of Guyana approved the overflight of two F/A18F Super Hornets of the United States Navy in Georgetown (…) on May 9, 2024,” the Guyanese government confirmed in a statement.
“This exercise is being carried out as part of the defense cooperation pact between Guyana and the United States of America and seeks to deepen security in the ongoing cooperation program between our two countries,” he added.
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The Foreign Minister of Venezuela, Yván Gil, also estimated that the overflight “threatens the peace zone” agreed upon between President Nicolás Maduro. and his Guyanese counterpart, Irfaan Ali, in December during a time of high tension and fears of armed conflict due to the territorial dispute.
In 2018, Guyana filed a lawsuit against Venezuela before the International Court of Justice to resolve the territorial dispute between both States over the Essequibo region, so a ruling is expected in the coming years to resolve this controversy.
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