Brazil’s Defense Ministry monitoring Venezuela- Guyana situation, intensifies defense actions on northern border

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 November 2023, 21:37 by Denis Chabrol

The Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday that it is monitoring the situation between Venezuela and Guyana and that defense actions “have been intensified” in the border region, to the north of the country, the highly credible G1.globo.com newspaper reported.

According to the Ministry, there was reinforcement of military personnel in the region.

Senator Hiran Gonçalves (PP) asked the Ministry of Defense to reinforce the Armed Forces in Pacaraima , a Brazilian city on the border with Venezuela, due to the dispute between the Venezuelan country and Guyana over the Essequibo region.

Essequibo, administered by Guyana, has a territory of 160 thousand km² — around 70% of Guyana’s current territory — and has oil reserves estimated at 11 billion barrels.

According to the senator, in a conversation on Tuesday,  the Minister of Defense, José Mucio, had already guaranteed military reinforcement on the border between Brazil and Venezuela, mainly in the municipality of Pacaraima, a strategic point of access to the Essequibo .

The senator’s request comes on the eve of the referendum that Venezuela called for the country’s population to respond on the creation of a new province called “Guayana Esequiba” in the territory of Essequibo.

The referendum, called by Nicolás Maduro, is scheduled for this Sunday (3), and expects to grant Venezuelan nationality to 125 thousand inhabitants of the Essequibo region.

For the senator, the military reinforcement will guarantee the safety of Brazilians living in Pacaraima, due to the approaching referendum.

Dispute of almost 60 years

Venezuela and Guyana have had a controversy over the Essequibo region since 1966. In 2015, the dispute became more intense, as the American company ExxonMobil discovered oil fields in the region.

Guyana says that it owns the territory because because of the 1899 Arbitral Tribunal Award, made in Paris, in which the current borders were established.

Venezuela claims that the territory is its own.

Guyana has taken steps for the controversy to be resolved at the International Court of Justice. Venezuela wants to try to negotiate with the neighboring country.