BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday it was concerned about a border dispute between Venezuela and Guyana that intensified this week following Britain’s decision to send a warship to Guyana’s shores.
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday it was concerned about a border dispute between Venezuela and Guyana that intensified this week following Britain’s decision to send a warship to Guyana’s shores.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Brazil’s statement calls on both countries to stay true to the Argyle Declaration, an agreement signed by Guyana and Venezuela two weeks ago in which their leaders said they would solve the border dispute through nonviolent means.
Venezuela on Thursday began military exercises involving 5,000 troops in the eastern Caribbean near the border with Guyana in response to Britain’s decision to send the patrol ship HMS Trent.
The UK’s defense ministry has said that the ship is visiting the former British colony as part of a series of engagements in the region and that the vessel will conduct training exercises with Guyana’s military.
Guyana has controlled Essequibo for decades, but Venezuela revived its historical claim to the region earlier this month through a referendum in which voters were asked whether the territory should be turned into a Venezuelan state.
Critics of Maduro say the socialist leader has reignited the border dispute to draw attention from the nation’s internal problems as Venezuela prepares for a presidential election next year.
Venezuelan officials also argue that an agreement among Venezuela, Britain and the then colony of British Guiana signed in 1966 to resolve the dispute effectively nullified the original arbitration.
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