Britain had, a few days earlier, announced it would divert its patrol vessel HMS Trent to Guyana, a former British colony, as tensions and territorial disputes continue to heat up between Guyana and Venezuela over the oil-rich Essequibo region, which Maduro has claimed following a referendum in early December. Essequibo makes up about two-thirds of Guyana's territory. Venezuela, however, does not share the UK’s views, with Maduro recently claiming that Essequibo is actually Venezuelan land. The decades-old territorial dispute that has flared ever since U.S. oil and gas producer, ExxonMobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM) and its partners discovered massive oil deposits more than a decade ago. Earlier in December, Maduro met with Guyana’s leadership, with both vowing to avoid violence.

Source: The North Africa Journal December 30, 2023 13:24 UTC