International Venezuela / Guyana (possible) conflict

[Rholk]

Venezuela gives 90-day warning to Guyana producers | Argus Media

Venezuela has given ExxonMobil and other offshore oil producers 90 days to stop operations in disputed waters off the coast of Guyana.

www.argusmedia.com

 

[Rhood]

 

[Misfit23]

All these Oil Wars could be crushed and go away if the U.S. simply decided to go full blast on drill baby drill and dump the price into the dirt. It would crush the economies of Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. I'm good with that.... oh wait... Global Warming!!!!! Nevermind... it would kill us all.

It'd be nice if we left some resources for future generations don't ya think?

 

[LeonardoBjj]

Hugo Chavez and Maduro basically bought all the higher ranks of the military.

The lower ranks are kind of a mess, but still better than the average people of Venezuela. They're kept on a leash by monitoring and intelligence services, so rebelling is not an option.

Like most autocratic states, the armed forces are a mess, command is based in loyalty not competence. But it's still enough to crush Guyana if they want to.

This is a few years old but still an informative read:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/2/23/venezuela-the-military-and-its-support-an-explainer

- Yeah. But it's the average that are gonna put their lives on the line. Even Lula, biggest lover of Maduro doesnt suport him.
And Guyana is were people from here go to go to the French Foreing Legion. I'm sure Guyana will get full suport.

 

[Whippy McGee]

It'd be nice if we left some resources for future generations don't ya think?

That's a solid question. However, we have 300 years of Fossil fuels (that we know of right now) in the U.S. If we take a approach of hardcore Fossil right now as we build up our Nuclear power we'll be 100% fine. If we don't have improved micro Nuclear, or Fusion, or a better energy source in 300 years, then we never deserved to evolve in the first place.

 

[Rholk]

 

[cottagecheesefan]

I think it was just the other day some dork was questioning why Biden would even be brought up in a thread like this. Stop sleep walking into world war 3 please.

And who lifted sanctions on Venezuela, helping fund this? Reminds me of Iran and Hamas.

 

[Fluffernutter]

I think it was just the other day some dork was questioning why Biden would even be brought up in a thread like this. Stop sleep walking into world war 3 please.

And who lifted sanctions on Venezuela, helping fund this? Reminds me of Iran and Hamas.

Advisors to Trainers to Boots on the Ground?

 

[SandisLL]

Who cares?
Under Reagan I such case they already had get dozen of Tomahawks on their heads and warning that will get more and more hot stuff.
Under Briben or Pump ? Nothing special and life will continue as it is looking today....will see.

 

[cottagecheesefan]

Advisors to Trainers to Boots on the Ground?

Well it does say US southern command will do military aircraft drills, which does cost money to conduct, not to mention we have military bases there that we are just throwing money at year after year, again, as we have lifted sanctions on Venezuela, who now is using money to build up military, etc.

But more so, “U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a phone call Wednesday with Guyanese President Ali, reaffirmed the United States' "unwavering support for Guyana's sovereignty"

Wow, where have I heard that shit before, as we literally fund both sides.

Lift sanctions on nord stream —> Ukraine conflict

Lift sanctions on Iran —> Israel Palestine conflict

Lift sanctions on Venezuela —> buckle up buckerroo, the adults in charge

Literally, just a couple months ago, easy sanctions on Venezuelan oil, now they want to steal land with oil. That is a clear direct cause and effect

US broadly eases Venezuela oil sanctions after election deal

The Biden administration on Wednesday broadly eased sanctions on Venezuela's oil sector in response to a deal reached between the government and opposition parties for the 2024 election - the most extensive rollback of Trump-era restrictions on Caracas.

www.reuters.com

 

[LeonardoBjj]

Guyana agreed to talks with Venezuela over territorial dispute under pressure from Brazil, others​

The government of Guyana, under pressure from neighboring Brazil and a Caribbean trading bloc, has agreed to join bilateral talks with Venezuela over an escalating territorial dispute

By BERT WILKINSON Associated Press

GEORGETOWN, Guyana -- The government of Guyana, under pressure from neighboring Brazil and a Caribbean trading bloc, agreed Sunday to join bilateral talks with Venezuela over an escalating territorial dispute.

The century-old dispute between the two South American nations recently reignited with the discovery of masses of oil in Guyana. The government of Nicolas Maduro, through a referendum last week, has claimed sovereignty over the Essequibo territory, which accounts for two-thirds of Guyana and lies near big offshore oil deposits.

Even as troops mass on both sides of the shared Venezuela-Guyana border, Guyana President Irfaan Ali said Sunday that his country will meet on the Eastern Caribbean island nation of St. Vincent on Thursday to discuss where border lines between the two nations are drawn.

But any agreement is likely to be hard won with flaring tensions on both sides.

"I have made it very clear that on the issue of the border controversy, Guyana’s position is non-negotiable,” Ali said in a national broadcast.

The boundary was drawn by an international commission back in 1899, which Guyana argues is legal and binding, while Venezuela claims is a land theft conspiracy because arbitrators from Britain, Russia and the United States decided the boundary. Among other things, Venezuelan officials contend Americans and Europeans colluded to cheat their country out of the land.

Maduro's government said Saturday it agreed to talks to preserve its “aspiration to maintain Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace, without interference from external actors.”

Venezuela had been pushing for direct bilateral talks using a clause in the old agreement, while Guyana claims the case should be decided by the United Nations' International Court of Justice.

“In relation to our border, there is absolutely no compromise. The matter is before the ICJ and there is where it will be settled,” Ali said. “We expect that good sense will prevail and the commitment to peace, stability, the threat of disruption will cease.”

Ralph Gonsalves, prime minister of St. Vincent, will chair the meeting, while Brazil, which shares borders with both Venezuela and Guyana, and which had also placed troops on alert, will act as an observer.

Guyana leader Ali said he had also agreed to a conversation with Maduro following an emergency meeting of Caribbean leaders late Friday, where they asked for the conversation and emphasized their continued support for Guyana.

Steeped in patriotism, the Venezuelan government is seizing on the fight to boost support ahead of a presidential election among a population fed up with decades of crisis that has pushed many into poverty.

Venezuela's government claims about 10.5 million people — just over half of eligible voters — cast ballots. It says voters approved rejecting “by all means” the 1899 boundary, turning Essequibo into a state, giving area residents Venezuelan citizenship and rejecting the U.N. court’s jurisdiction over the dispute. But Associated Press journalists and witnesses at voting centers said the long lines typical of Venezuelan elections never formed.

In 2015, major oil deposits were first discovered off Essequibo’s shore by an ExxonMobil-led consortium, piquing the interest of Venezuela, whose commitment to pursuing the territorial claim has fluctuated over the years. Oil operations generate some $1 billion a year for Guyana, an impoverished country of nearly 800,000 people that saw its economy expand by nearly 60% in the first half of this year.

While Guyana’s oil industry continues to boom, Venezuela’s has plummeted. Venezuela has the world’s largest proven crude reserves, but its oil industry has been crippled by years of mismanagement and economic sanctions imposed on the state-owned oil company following Maduro’s re-election in 2018, which was widely considered fraudulent.

https://abcnews.go.com/Internationa...territorial-dispute-pressure-brazil-105536104

 

[rearnakedchoke]

I hear guyana are getting rockets from Trinidad . Those guys built one that went to the sun.

 

[Limeade]

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuela-guyana-presidents-meet-amid-territorial-dispute-2023-12-14/

Probably some saber rattling to drum up support for Maduro's base.

 

[Limeade]

All these Oil Wars could be crushed and go away if the U.S. simply decided to go full blast on drill baby drill and dump the price into the dirt. It would crush the economies of Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. I'm good with that.... oh wait... Global Warming!!!!! Nevermind... it would kill us all.

No thank you. Oil is already cheap and falling daily, I think WTI crude is around $70 per barrel. If we drive down the price anymore, then none of the US shale fields will be profitable and all sorts of economic harm.

As a conservative, I don't think we should be picking winners and losers in the economy. And American companies are doing well enough, so not sure what you mean by drill baby drill. See old article about Texas wildcat Occidental Petro.

"Oxy produced $117 million of net income in the first quarter on $3 billion in revenue, when oil prices averaged $51 a barrel. In 2016, with oil around $40, Oxy posted a net loss of nearly $600 million. But Hollub says at $45 Oxy can increase production. That's a far lower breakeven than you'd get from deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, and it also beats fracking in once-hot places like North Dakota, where the Bakken Shale is only a fraction as thick as the Permian layers. If oil prices return to their 20-year, inflation-adjusted average of $60, Oxy is poised to make $1.5 billion in net profits. Put another way, for every dollar in higher oil prices, about $100 million drops directly to Oxy's bottom line."

 

[Arkain2K]

Essequibo dispute: Venezuela and Guyana agree not to use force​

14th December 2023



Guyana and Venezuela have agreed to not "use force" to settle their dispute over the oil-rich region of Essequibo.

After meeting Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro, Guyanese President Irfaan Ali reaffirmed his commitment to peace in the region.

But he said Guyana had the right to exploit their sovereign space.

In a statement on X, Mr Maduro said it had been an "excellent day of dialogue".

Mr Ali and Mr Maduro met in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

In a three-page joint declaration, the countries agreed they would "not threaten or use force against one another in any circumstances" and would "continue dialogue".

They also agreed to establish a joint commission of foreign ministers to address any matters arising over the contested area, and will meet again Brazil to discuss Essequibo.

Guyana says the issue will be resolved by the International Court of Justice, in The Hague, but Venezuela does not recognise the court's jurisdiction.

Essequibo, a 160,000 sq-km jungle region, covers two-thirds of the Guyanese territory.

It has been the subject of historic dispute between the two countries.

Venezuela renewed its claim to the land following the discovery of oil in waters off Essequibo's coast in 2015.

Mr Maduro previously said he would permit oil exploration in the contested territory but Guyana has already made deals with investors including oil and gas giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron.

At the meeting, Mr Ali wore a bracelet showing a map of Guyana that includes Essequibo and reiterated the dispute must be solved through the ICJ.

"Guyana is not the aggressor, Guyana is not seeking war, but Guyana reserves the right to work with all our partners to ensure the defence of our country," he said.

Essequibo dispute: Venezuela and Guyana agree not to use force

The presidents of Guyana and Venezuela will negotiate peacefully over oil-rich Essequibo after talks.

www.bbc.com

 

[Arkain2K]

U.K to send warship in a show of international support for Commonwealth member Guyana ​

By James Landale | Dec 23, 2023

The UK is preparing to send a warship to Guyana in a show of diplomatic and military support for the former British colony, the BBC has learned.

It comes after neighbouring Venezuela renewed its claim for a disputed part of Guyanese territory that is rich in oil and minerals.

The 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.

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.

While Guyana's economy is growing fast, Venezuela's is suffering.

Nicolas Maduro, the president of Venezuela, staged a referendum on 3 December to assert popular support for his country's claim to Essequibo.

The result was widely challenged and disputed but he nonetheless published new maps and legislation showing Essequibo as part of Venezuela, named a new governor and offered identity cards to those living in the sparsely populated region.

He has also ordered the state oil company to issue extraction licences.

Mr Maduro has subsequently met Guyana's President, Irfaan Ali, and agreed not to use force, but he has maintained his territorial claim and both sides are still at odds over how the border dispute could be settled legally.

This week the Lloyd's insurance market in London added Guyana to its list of riskiest shipping zones.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson told the BBC: "HMS Trent will visit regional ally and Commonwealth partner Guyana later this month as part of a series of engagements in the region during her Atlantic Patrol Task deployment."

HMS Trent has a crew of 65, a top speed of 24 knots and a range of 5,000 nautical miles.

It is armed with 30mm canon and a contingent of Royal Marines. It can also deploy Merlin helicopters and unmanned aircraft.

HMS Trent left its home port of Gibraltar in early December and is currently alongside in Bridgetown, Barbados for Christmas.

The warship is expected to anchor off the capital of Guyana, Georgetown, and conduct visits, joint activities and training with the country's navy and other allies. It cannot go alongside because the port is too shallow.

The vessel is mainly used for tackling piracy and smuggling, protecting fisheries, counterterrorism, providing humanitarian aid, and search and rescue operations, but the Royal Navy says it is also designed for border patrols and defence diplomacy.

The decision to send HMS Trent to Guyana is part of a growing UK effort to show international diplomatic support for Guyana.

Irfaan Ali, President of Guyana (left), and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro have agreed not to use force but tensions remain


This week the Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron said the UK would "continue to work with partners in the region to ensure the territorial integrity of Guyana is upheld and prevent escalation".

David Rutley, the Foreign Office Minister for the Americas, visited Georgetown on 18 December, the first G7 representative to do so since Venezuela renewed its claim.

He promised Guyana the UK's "unequivocal backing" and welcomed Venezuela's promise to avoid using force.

Mr Rutley continued: "The border issue has been settled for over 120 years. Sovereign borders must be respected wherever they are in the world.

"The UK will continue to work with partners in the region, as well as through international bodies, to ensure the territorial integrity of Guyana is upheld."

Venezuela's Foreign Minister, Yvan Gil, criticised the visit, accusing the UK of destabilising the region.

In a post on X - formerly Twitter - he said: "The former invading and enslaving empire, which illegally occupied the territory of Guayana Esequiba and acted in a skilful and sneaky manner against the interests of Venezuela, insists on intervening in a territorial controversy that they themselves generated."

Venezuela disputes the border which was established under an international agreement in 1899.

Guyana was formerly known as British Guiana before it secured its independence in 1966.

Guyana: UK to send warship to South America amid Venezuela tensions

HMS Trent will visit South America as a show of support for the former British colony, the BBC learns.

www.bbc.com

 

[LeonardoBjj]

U.K to send warship in a show of international support for Commonwealth member Guyana ​

By James Landale | Dec 23, 2023

The UK is preparing to send a warship to Guyana in a show of diplomatic and military support for the former British colony, the BBC has learned.

It comes after neighbouring Venezuela renewed its claim for a disputed part of Guyanese territory that is rich in oil and minerals.

The 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.

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.

While Guyana's economy is growing fast, Venezuela's is suffering.

Nicolas Maduro, the president of Venezuela, staged a referendum on 3 December to assert popular support for his country's claim to Essequibo.

The result was widely challenged and disputed but he nonetheless published new maps and legislation showing Essequibo as part of Venezuela, named a new governor and offered identity cards to those living in the sparsely populated region.

He has also ordered the state oil company to issue extraction licences.

Mr Maduro has subsequently met Guyana's President, Irfaan Ali, and agreed not to use force, but he has maintained his territorial claim and both sides are still at odds over how the border dispute could be settled legally.

This week the Lloyd's insurance market in London added Guyana to its list of riskiest shipping zones.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson told the BBC: "HMS Trent will visit regional ally and Commonwealth partner Guyana later this month as part of a series of engagements in the region during her Atlantic Patrol Task deployment."

HMS Trent has a crew of 65, a top speed of 24 knots and a range of 5,000 nautical miles.

It is armed with 30mm canon and a contingent of Royal Marines. It can also deploy Merlin helicopters and unmanned aircraft.

HMS Trent left its home port of Gibraltar in early December and is currently alongside in Bridgetown, Barbados for Christmas.

The warship is expected to anchor off the capital of Guyana, Georgetown, and conduct visits, joint activities and training with the country's navy and other allies. It cannot go alongside because the port is too shallow.

The vessel is mainly used for tackling piracy and smuggling, protecting fisheries, counterterrorism, providing humanitarian aid, and search and rescue operations, but the Royal Navy says it is also designed for border patrols and defence diplomacy.

The decision to send HMS Trent to Guyana is part of a growing UK effort to show international diplomatic support for Guyana.

Irfaan Ali, President of Guyana (left), and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro have agreed not to use force but tensions remain


This week the Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron said the UK would "continue to work with partners in the region to ensure the territorial integrity of Guyana is upheld and prevent escalation".

David Rutley, the Foreign Office Minister for the Americas, visited Georgetown on 18 December, the first G7 representative to do so since Venezuela renewed its claim.

He promised Guyana the UK's "unequivocal backing" and welcomed Venezuela's promise to avoid using force.

Mr Rutley continued: "The border issue has been settled for over 120 years. Sovereign borders must be respected wherever they are in the world.

"The UK will continue to work with partners in the region, as well as through international bodies, to ensure the territorial integrity of Guyana is upheld."

Venezuela's Foreign Minister, Yvan Gil, criticised the visit, accusing the UK of destabilising the region.

In a post on X - formerly Twitter - he said: "The former invading and enslaving empire, which illegally occupied the territory of Guayana Esequiba and acted in a skilful and sneaky manner against the interests of Venezuela, insists on intervening in a territorial controversy that they themselves generated."

Venezuela disputes the border which was established under an international agreement in 1899.

Guyana was formerly known as British Guiana before it secured its independence in 1966.

Guyana: UK to send warship to South America amid Venezuela tensions

HMS Trent will visit South America as a show of support for the former British colony, the BBC learns.

www.bbc.com

- Just send this

 

[Arkain2K]

- Just send this

Only if it's the OG mickey and not the current one! Or else the licensing fee might be even more expensive than the ship.

The OG Mickey Mouse Finally Hits the Public Domain Next Week

Disney's decades-long copyright on the character's Steamboat Willie incarnation will be no more, and the public can do with him as they please.

gizmodo.com

 

[Halge]

Sounds like the kind of conflict the rest of South America should be able to put the kibosh on. Venezuela may get some support from Cuba and Russia and mebbe China, but I doubt that's enough to deal with Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Mexico et al if they tell Maduro to lay off.

 

[LeonardoBjj]

Venezuela will hold military exercises off its shores as a British warship heads to Guyana​

BY MANUEL RUEDA
Updated 11:20 PM BRT, December 28, 2023

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — President Nicolás Maduro ordered Venezuela’s armed forces to conduct defensive exercises in the Eastern Caribbean after the United Kingdom sent a warship toward Guyana’s territorial waters as the South American neighbors dispute a large border region.

In a nationally televised address Thursday, Maduro said that 6,000 Venezuelan troops — including air and naval forces — will conduct joint operations off the nation’s eastern coast near the border with Guyana.

Maduro described the impending arrival of British ship HMS Trent to Guyana’s shores as a threat to his country. He argued the ship’s deployment violates a recent agreement between the South American nations.

Real image provided by @Smokes

“We believe in diplomacy, in dialogue and in peace, but no one is going to threaten Venezuela,” Maduro said in a room where he was accompanied by a dozen military commanders. “This is an unacceptable threat to any sovereign country in Latin America.”

Venezuela and Guyana are currently involved in a border dispute over the Essequibo, a sparsely populated region the size of Florida with vast oil deposits off its shores.

The region has been under Guyana’s control for decades, but in December, Venezuela relaunched its historical claim to the Essequibo through a referendum in which it asked voters in the country whether the Essequibo should be turned into a Venezuelan state.

As tensions over the region escalated, the leaders of both countries met in the Caribbean island of St. Vincent, and signed an agreement which said they would solve their dispute through nonviolent means.

During the talks, however, Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali said his nation reserved its right to work with its partners to ensure the defense of his country.

On Thursday, Guyanese officials described the visit of HMS Trent as a planned activity aimed at improving the nation’s defense capabilities and said the ship’s visit will continue as scheduled.

“Nothing that we do or have done is threatening Venezuela,”
Guyana’s Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo told reporters in Georgetown, the nation’s capital.

HMS Trent is a patrol and rescue ship that was recently used to intercept drug traffickers off the West Coast of Africa. It can accommodate up to 30 sailors and a contingent of 18 marines, and is equipped with 30 mm cannons and a landing pad for helicopters and drones.

The ship had been sent to Barbados in early December to intercept drug traffickers, but its mission was changed on Dec. 24, when it was sent to Guyana. Authorities did not specify when it was expected to arrive off Guyana’s shores.

The United Kingdom’s Defense Ministry said the ship would be conducting joint operations with Guyana’s defense forces.

The nation of 800,000 people has a small military that is made up of 3,000 soldiers, 200 sailors and four small patrol boats known as Barracudas.

Venezuela says it was the victim of a land theft conspiracy in 1899, when Guyana was a British colony and arbitrators from Britain, Russia and the United States decided the boundary. The U.S. represented Venezuela in part because the Venezuelan government had broken off diplomatic relations with Britain.

Venezuelan officials contend Americans and Europeans colluded to cheat their country out of the land. They also argue that an agreement among Venezuela, Britain and the colony of British Guiana signed in 1966 to resolve the dispute effectively nullified the original arbitration.

Guyana maintains the initial accord is legal and binding and asked the United Nations’ top court in 2018 to rule it as such, but a decision is years away. The century-old dispute was recently reignited with the discovery of oil in Guyana.

https://apnews.com/article/venezuel...tish-warship-5610400f4af662156e5e111fc17705c3