The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is up in arms over the United Kingdome’s recent deployment of a warship, HMS Trent to Guyana amid a border dispute between the two countries.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister, Yvan Gil, in a post to social media platform “X”, formerly Twitter, said that the deployment of the vessel is an act of hostile provocation. Gil, however, was mum when Venezuelan troops amassed at the border earlier this month. Even when Venezuelan aircrafts conducted flyovers in Guyana’s territory, Gil did not cry provocation, nor did he as his government, earlier this month, passed a padded budget with the excesses geared at “defending the Esequiba”.
The statement also noted that the deployment of HMS Trent is a violation of the recent Argyle Declaration, assumed as a roadmap to address the territorial controversy.
The UK Ministry of Defence confirmed HMS Trent would take part in joint exercises after Christmas. Guyana, a Commonwealth member, is South America’s only English-speaking nation.
According to the BBC, HMS Trent – an offshore patrol vessel – had been deployed to the Caribbean to search for drug smugglers but was re-tasked after Venezuela’s government threatened to annex the Essequibo region of Guyana earlier this month.
This raised fears that Venezuela might invade and spark the first interstate war in South America since the Falklands Conflict in 1982.
Venezuela has long claimed ownership of Essequibo, a 61,000 square mile region which comprises about two-thirds of Guyana.
Its hills and jungles are rich in gold, diamonds and bauxite, while huge oil deposits have been found off its coast.
Below is the statement from the Venezuelan Government translated to English using Google Lens:
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela categorically rejects the arrival of the ship HMS Trent, of the British Navy, to the coasts of Guyana, which becomes an act of hostile provocation and a violation of the recent Argyle Declaration, assumed as a roadmap to address the territorial dispute over Guayana Esequiba between Venezuela and Guyana.
The presence of the military ship is extremely serious, since it is accompanied by statements by political and military spokesmen of the person who served as the looter of Guayana Esequiba, who insists on getting involved in said controversy.
These statements have been equally synchronized with actions by the United States Southern Command, which clearly becomes a direct threat to the peace and stability of the region.
Venezuela urges the Guyana authorities to take immediate action to remove the ship HMS Trent, and to refrain from continuing to involve military powers in the territorial controversy. Likewise, it warns the members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), that these actions are contrary to the spirit of peace and understanding with which we attend the call on December 14 in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, to which we must return immediately and continue with the path of direct dialogue between the parties.
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela reserves all actions, within the framework of its Constitution and International Law, to defend the maritime and territorial integrity of the Homeland.
