The United States announced joint military flight drills in Guyana on Thursday as tensions over a contested oil-rich region with neighbor Venezuela prompted the U.N. Security Council to call an urgent meeting.

A border feud has been spiraling over the Essequibo region, which has been administered and controlled by Guyana for more than a century, although Venezuela also claims the disputed area. Venezuela recently conducted a referendum, which it claims citizens supported, that aims to give Venezuela authority over the Essequibo region. Guyanese officials said in response that the country is preparing to defend itself and its borders in case of an invasion.

The spat is drawing in the international community, with the U.S. announcement of military exercises the latest sign that Washington is alarmed at the threat from the authoritarian leftist Venezuelan government of President Nicolás Maduro.

  • @assembly
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    1611 months ago

    Venezuela borders Guyana to the west and the Essequibo river is in the east of the country. From what I can tell Venezuela is looking to take over Guyana. I am struggling to understand what they are thinking here. This will not end well for them. I imagine Brazil ain’t gonna tolerate that shit either.

    • Zagorath
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      11 months ago

      They’re not looking to take over all of Guyana. Just most of it. The part with the offshore oil.

      Edit: and the part over which they can devise some form of historical justification to at least provide the veneer of legality to what they’re planning.

      Here’s a rough map showing just how much they’re talking about taking (note: that “95% approved” is not talking about the people in the area. It’s talking about the official results of an election conducted in Venezuela, though there are strong reasons to doubt the official figures).

  • @TechNerdWizard42
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    811 months ago

    Murica smells those barrels of freedom sauce. The rest doesn’t matter.

    For those that don’t know US oil interests, like Exxon, are already exploiting those fields for private profit. So now it’s the United States Territory of Guyana. Until the oil dries up. Then it’s back to “f-off poor Latin country”!

  • @[email protected]
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    511 months ago

    Exxon has oil production assets offshore already licences by Guyana. They are big fields and are game changing for Guyana.

    Did I mention that it’s Exxon?

    Venezuela is dreaming

    • @Agent641
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      411 months ago

      I know three things:

      • Don’t tell an angry girlfriend to calm down

      • Dont tuck my shirt into my underpants

      • Dont fuck with America’s oil

    • @ours
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      411 months ago

      Nothing like some F-35s and B-1s flying overhead to break some idiot’s dream invasion fall apart.

      Like their buddy Putin, maybe they should focus on fixing their countries before wanting to do disastrous landgrabs on their neighbors.

    • TheDankHold
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      211 months ago

      Exactly, gotta protect US business while they siphon off resources from the third world. Only we’re allowed to exploit the natural resources of another country.

  • AutoTL;DRB
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    211 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    The United States announced joint military flight drills in Guyana on Thursday as tensions over a contested oil-rich region with neighbor Venezuela prompted the U.N. Security Council to call an urgent meeting.

    The spat is drawing in the international community, with the U.S. announcement of military exercises the latest sign that Washington is alarmed at the threat from the authoritarian leftist Venezuelan government of President Nicolás Maduro.

    Guyana’s president, Irfaan Ali, told CBS News in a Tuesday interview that the country would prepare military assets with its allies to ready itself for “the worst case scenario,” but said he hopes the conflict does not come to that.

    “Our first line of defense is diplomacy,” Ali told CBS News, adding that Guyana has reached out to leaders abroad, including in the U.S., India and Cuba, hoping that “they can encourage Venezuela to do what is right, and ensure that they do not act in a reckless or adventurous manner that could disrupt the peace within this zone.”

    In Brazil, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva also voiced “growing concern” about the tension on his country’s northern border, telling a summit of the Mercosur regional bloc that “if there’s one thing we don’t want here in South America it’s war.”

    The Brazilian army said Wednesday it was reinforcing its presence in the northern cities of Pacaraima and Boa Vista, both of which share a border with Venezuela, as part of efforts “to guarantee the inviolability of the territory.”


    The original article contains 923 words, the summary contains 244 words. Saved 74%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

    • @[email protected]
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      111 months ago

      Now they can try to get the people’s support by talking about the evil US preventing them from conquering all that oil.

      Probably not as effective of a distraction but eh

  • @YoBuckStopsHere
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    11 months ago

    U.S. occupation of Venezuela coming soon. All that oil just waiting to be exploited. /s