LONDON — Venezuela lashed out at “an act of hostile provocation” after the United Kingdom deployed a navy patrol ship to Guyana amid a simmering border dispute.
The U.K. announced this week that its HMS Trent vessel had been dispatched to Guyana in what it described as a show of support for the ex-British colony, which neighbors Venezuela.
President Nicolás Maduro’s regime held a referendum earlier this month seeking public backing for proposals to claim sovereignty over the vast oil- and mineral-rich Essequibo region, which is controlled by Guyana but long contested by Venezuela.
Maduro said in a televised address Thursday night that his country’s armed forces would now kick off their own military exercises, calling it “a joint action of a defensive nature in response to the provocation and threat of the U.K. against peace and the sovereignty of our country.”
Britain’s Ministry of Defense did not explicitly mention Venezuela when announcing the deployment earlier this week.
It said only that HM Trent would visit “regional ally and Commonwealth partner Guyana later this month as part of a series of engagements in the region during her Atlantic Patrol Task deployment.”
But, visiting Guyana last week, U.K. Foreign Office Minister David Rutley said: “The border issue has been settled for over 120 years. Sovereign borders must be respected wherever they are in the world.”
Regional tensions have ramped up in recent weeks. In the wake of Caracas’ referendum, Guyana and Venezuela signed an agreement promising not to use force and to continue dialogue in its dispute over Essequibo.
Guyana wants the dispute resolved through the International Court of Justice in The Hague but Venezuela does not recognize its jurisdiction over the row.
