Venezuela says troops will stay deployed until British military vessel leaves waters off Guyana
- Venezuelan Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino says the troops are safeguarding the country’s national sovereignty following the arrival of British military vessel HMS Trent
- Venezuela has been in a border dispute with Guyana over Essequibo, which is rich in oil and minerals, and HMS Trent’s deployment has stoked tensions
Venezuela said on Saturday it would continue to deploy nearly 6,000 troops until a British military vessel sent to neighbouring Guyana left the waters off the coast of the two South American nations.
In a video posted to X, Venezuelan Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino appeared surrounded by military officers in front of a marked up map of Venezuela and Guyana, a former British colony.
Padrino said the forces were “safeguarding our national sovereignty”.
“Armed forces have been deployed not just in the east of the country, but across the entire territory,” he said. “They will be there until this British imperialist boat leaves the disputed waters between Venezuela and Guyana.”
The defence ministry confirmed to Associated Press that the video was made at a military base in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas.
The video comes after weeks of tensions between the two countries over Venezuela’s renewed claim to a region in Guyana known as Essequibo, a sparsely populated stretch of land roughly the size of Florida that is rich in oil and minerals. Operations generate some $1 billion a year for the impoverished country of nearly 800,000 people that saw its economy expand by nearly 60 per cent in the first half of this year.