Venezuela Militarizes Border of Oil-Rich Region in Guyana

Venezuela has sent light tanks, missile-equipped patrol boats and armored carriers to its border with Guyana’s oil-rich Essequibo region that Venezuela claims, satellite images published on February 9 and recent videos by Venezuela’s military showed.

The deployment comes despite a deal Venezuela and Guyana signed in December to “not threaten or use force against one another in any circumstances.”

Regional dispute: Essequibo covers over two thirds of Guyana’s territory and has been governed by Guyana for over 100 years. The Venezuelan government claims the region on the grounds that the 19th-century agreement that granted it to Guyana was illegal.

• The dispute intensified after ExxonMobil discovered oil in the region in 2015.
• It further intensified in December, when 95 percent of Venezuelan voters called for their nation to annex the region.

U.S. response: United States officials visited Guyana in recent months to strengthen ties; Britain sent a warship there in December. But America and Britain have been unable to deter Russia-allied Venezuela from escalating the dispute over Essequibo.

American and British failures to restrain Hamas in Israel, the Houthis in the Red Sea, and Russia in Ukraine are signs of weakness. Nations such as Venezuela recognize this and are moving to conquer other territories.

The Bible warns that, in this end time, America and Britain will weaken while “Gentile” nations such as Russia and Venezuela will rise.

Learn more: Read “What Are the Times of the Gentiles?”