Venezuela desires?/does not desire? US interference in Guyana

Venezuelan government requested the US not to interfere in matters with Guyana
The petition was made through a communiqué published by the Chancellery
By EFE DECEMBER 25, 2018 03:28 PM | UPDATED ON DECEMBER 26, 2018 08:08 AM

translated from Spanish

The Venezuelan government on Tuesday asked the United States not to interfere in the affairs it has with Guyana, after the authorities intercepted two oil tankers authorized by Georgetown.

In a statement, the government "categorically rejected the intrusive and impertinent communication from the US State Department about the sovereign action on the 23rd," when the Navy of the country intercepted vessels belonging to Exxon Mobil.

After the incident, Washington asked Venezuela to respect the "international law and the sovereignty of its neighbors" as Guyana denounces that the Venezuelan authorities violated their sovereignty by intercepting a ship of the US oil company.

The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry published the official note accusing the US of interfering "in a matter that is not at all of its concern, in order to promote corporate interests linked carnally with the ruling elite in Washington."

"Clearly, it is clear that the US government interferes with convenience without paying attention to the most basic norms of public international law, and we strongly urge the US authorities to stay out of the relations between sovereign states," the government added. in the statement.

According to the Guyanese Foreign Ministry, the incident occurred on Saturday, when a Venezuelan military vessel intercepted the exploration vessel Ramform Tethys, which had been hired by Exxon Mobil and had 70 people on board.

Guyana assured that the incident occurred in its waters, but the Venezuelan Executive affirms that it happened in its territory and supposes a violation of its sovereignty.

The Guyanese Foreign Minister, Carl Greenidge, announced that he will file a complaint with the United Nations for the incident with the ships, which he described as "aggressive", "illegal" and "hostile".

The incident is part of the dispute between Venezuela and Guyana over the dominance of the Essequibo region, an area very rich in minerals.

http://www.el-nacional.com/noticias/gobierno/gobierno-venezolano-solicito-interferir-asuntos-con-guyana_264426

Maduro is itching for any sort of incident that he can escalate into a confrontation. Venezuela is an absolute disaster, and he is "poking the bear" along the border with Colombia and Brazil, as well as Guyana (which he claims that 2/3 belongs to Venezuela**). Any military action, no matter how ridiculous will excuse him from taking care of matters on the home front, like lack of food, medicine, GASOLINE, electricity, water and the trappings of normal governance, like passports or drivers licenses. Venezuela WANTS the US to make its presence known.

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**Essequibo is a region of Guyana that Venezuela (and its ally, the US) lost during binding arbitration back in the late 19th century. Years later, Venezuela has decided to unilaterally dispute that binding arbitration and contests that 2/3 of Guyana is actually Venezuelan land, despite the objections of the Guyanese. In reality, Guyana has found oil on their side of the border, and the Chavistas will not allow their "weak neighbor" to cut into Venezuela's gravy train.

https://www.peacepalacelibrary.nl/2016/01/essequibo-the-territorial-dispute-between-venezuela-and-guyana/