Marco Rubio, United States Secretary of State, has taken an assertive stance against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s attempted bullyism of the South American nation. He said a conflict with Guyana or an attack on Exxon’s Stabroek Block would lead to dire consequences for Venezuela.
Rubio was at the time addressing a joint press briefing today (March 27) with Guyanese President Dr. Irfaan Ali when he made that statement.
Venezuela and Guyana have been embroiled in a territorial controversy over the Essequibo territory for several years, and despite a peace treaty in place, Maduro has grown increasingly aggressive. The case is currently before the International Court of Justice.
Rubio pledged that the US remains a strong partner of Guyana. Against that backdrop, he said that should Maduro be brazen enough to attack Guyana, “It would be a very bad day” for him.
“It would be a very bad day, a very bad week for them…” he underscored. “I want to be clear…we have a big Navy, and it can get almost anywhere in the world. And we have commitments that exist today with Guyana.”
“If that regime were to do something such as that, it would be very bad, would be a big mistake for them,” he continued.
ExxonMobil operates Guyana’s Stabroek Block and currently has three FPSOs online.
The last aggressive act from Venezuela was on March 1 when a Venezuelan Navy vessel entered Guyana’s EEZ and sailed pass a few oil assets including the Prosperity FPSO.
