TheLittleTwentieth – Renowned Papers Edition, AI Infused

Local sources from Venezuela: ámbito.com, Revista Semana.
UK coverage: BBC.

Brazil has deployed troops to its border with Venezuela, causing concern in the region. The move comes as Guyana also puts its troops on high alert. The Brazilian army is sending more soldiers and armed vehicles to the border city of Boa Vista in Roraima state, in response to the escalating tensions between Venezuelans and Guyanese over the historical territorial dispute in the Essequibo region. The Bolivarian Republic is pushing for a referendum to annex the area.

The Ministry of Defense of Brazil has announced the deployment of troops to the northern border as a “defensive measure”, intensifying military presence in the region due to the growing tensions between Guyana and Venezuela. The governments of Nicolás Maduro are pushing for a consultative referendum on December 3rd, in which they will ask their citizens if they support granting nationality to the 125,000 inhabitants of the disputed Essequibo region and creating a new Venezuelan province called “Guayana Esequiba”.

Guyana has rejected the consultation, which was described by its president, Irfaan Ali, as “a threat to peace in Latin America and the Caribbean”. In response, Guyana proposed the option of establishing “military bases” with the support of the United States in the Essequibo, a territory rich in oil and natural resources. The United States led military exercises in Guyana in July, with the participation of over 1,500 troops from 20 countries.

Brazil’s Defense Minister, José Múcio, announced that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has ordered the “fortification” of the northern border with Venezuela and Guyana following increased tension over the dispute of the resource-rich Esequibo region. The Ministry of Defense has doubled the number of troops on the borders from 70,000 to 130,000, in addition to sending twenty armored vehicles.

President Lula has expressed his views, saying “There is one thing that Latin America does not need at this moment: confusion. What we need is to grow to improve the lives of our people (…) and not be thinking about disputes. I hope that sensibility prevails in Venezuela and Guyana”.

Guyana’s President, Irfaan Alí, stated that the statements made by his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolás Maduro, are a “direct threat” against his country. Maduro had ordered the state-owned oil company PDVSA to grant licenses for resource exploitation in the Esequibo region, which is administered by Georgetown and is the subject of the dispute with Guyana.

The Venezuelan government plans to implement a series of actions to “recover” the Esequibo following the referendum held last Sunday, in which the population was consulted on whether Caracas should continue its claim over the disputed region. However, this result does not change the ongoing dispute between the two countries in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which Caracas rejects.

Brazil’s deployment of troops to the Venezuela border is a response to the growing tensions between the two countries over the Esequibo region, a territory rich in oil and natural resources. The Brazilian government has ordered the “fortification” of the northern border with Venezuela and Guyana, with the intention of maintaining peace in the region and preventing any further escalation of the dispute.