The president of Venezuela, Nicolas Madurohas ordered this Thursday the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) to launch “defensive actions“before the arrival of a British warship off the coast of Guyanain full escalation of tensions due to the territorial dispute of the Essequibo.

Maduro has announced that he has ordered the entire Armed Forces to activate a “joint defensive action” in response to the “provocation” posed by the arrival of that British Navy warship.

Is a “threat (…) against the peace and sovereignty” of Venezuelathe president expressed during his speech on the occasion of the end of the year, broadcast by the Venezuelan radio and television network.

Hours earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela issued a statement rejecting the arrival of the British Navy to Guyana, at a time when relations between Caracas and Georgetown are not going through their best moment due to a increased tensions in their already recurring dispute over Essequibo.

“The presence of the military ship is extremely serioussince it is accompanied by statements by political and military spokespersons that whoever served as stripper of Guayana Esequiba“says the statement, referring to the United Kingdom as a colonial power.

The dispute over the Essequibo

The dispute between Venezuela and Guyana over the Essequibo dates back almost two centuries, although it was five years ago with the discovery of important oil deposits under its waters when the conflict was revived.

Both countries are entangled in a dispute over 159,000 square kilometers of territory west of the Essequibo River, a region rich in oil, minerals and biodiversity that often appears on Venezuelan maps as a claim area and which constitutes two-thirds of Guyana’s total surface area.

The call Paris Arbitration Award of 1899 It established the limits marked by London, to which Guyana, its former colony, clings. In the middle of the 20th century, an alleged political arrangement was discovered to influence the vote of one of the jurists in said arbitration, so Venezuela revived the issue.

Thus, in 1966, in the midst of decolonization and three months before the independence of Guyana, Caracas and London signed the current Thursday Geneva Agreementwhich recognizes Venezuelan demands.