Venezuelan Military Remains on Guard Until UK Warship Leaves Guyana's Coast

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Venezuela will continue to deploy its military forces throughout the country until the United Kingdom removes its warship stationed off the coast of Guyana amid a simmering border dispute, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said.

Last week, UK media reported, citing a UK Defense Ministry spokesperson, that the country would deploy a naval patrol ship to Guyana as a sign of support for its former colony in the territorial dispute with Venezuela over the Essequibo region. On Thursday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said that he had instructed the armed forces to start "defensive actions" in retaliation for the deployment of the UK warship off the coast of Guyana.

"There ... on the Atlantic coast we [the Venezuelan armed forces] will remain [deployed] until this British imperialist vessel leaves the disputed waters between Venezuela and Guyana," Padrino Lopez said on X on Saturday.

The minister added that the military forces were rolled out "not only in the east" but also throughout the country.

In early December, Venezuela held a referendum in which almost 96% of the population voted in favor of incorporating the Essequibo region into the country. Guyanese President Mohamed Irfaan Ali said that Georgetown was considering Caracas' actions to incorporate Essequibo, which makes up two-thirds of Guyana's territory, as a threat to the country's national security and would raise the issue at the UN Security Council.

Ali and Maduro met earlier in December in the island nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines under the auspices of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and the Caribbean Community in an effort to defuse tensions over the disputed Essequibo region. Following the talks, the Venezuelan presidency said Maduro and Ali had agreed to continue the dialogue to resolve the dispute.