Guyana and Venezuela recently pledged peace with the Arygle agreement. But recent satellite images surfaced showing an increased military presence by Venezuela, close to the shared border.
“This is not the first time Venezuela has adopted a military posture that appears to be threatening,” Guyana’s Foreign Minister Hugh Todd told the Financial Times in an interview this week.
“[Venezuela has] argued it is committed to the region remaining a zone of peace and that it will not use force against Guyana. However, we’ve seen time and time again that back home, the military posture does not conform with the diplomatic stance.”
Guyana and Venezuela’s border controversy heated up last year. There were fears that Caracas would invade. But after Presidents Irfaan Ali and Nicolas Maduro signed the joint declaration to not aggravate the situation further and await a ruling from the World Court, things were quiet. Until now.
The U.S. is closely monitoring the situation, said White House National Security Communications Advisor, John Kirby. He described the military presence as small in scale. He said the U.S. continues to urge a peaceful resolution and that it will continue to keep an eye on the situation.
