South American Politics thread - Page 64

On December 05 2023 00:42 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:
Seems kind of odd that we haven't really heard from any of the neighboring countries like say Colombia etc. About any of this and who they support etc. I mean I know Brazil is sending its military to the border simply because of political security not only for the region but for Lula as well. His political survival depends on it as well.

On 30 November, Brazilian Minister of Defense José Múcio announced that the Brazilian Army would send 60 troops to Pacaraima to reinforce security at the border crossing with Venezuela, seeking to impede a potential Venezuelan crossing into Guyana from Brazilian territory.

On December 05 2023 02:26 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:
According to Wikipedia Brazil has only sent 60 soldiers to the border... that will surely send some strong signals.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Guayana_Esequiba_crisis#Reported_military_buildup

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Venezuelan_referendum#International



So either Lula/Brazil doesn't want to try and trigger an invasion by strengthening their side of the border, even though they have said they don't believe Venezuela will respect the World Court or opinion on the matter. Or they are acting like a deer in the headlights. Or worse, they want the US to act so they can be the good cop.

On December 05 2023 03:44 JimmiC wrote:


Not that you are wrong, but didn’t the whole world think that of Russia?

On December 04 2023 18:13 GreenHorizons wrote:

What's happening is a bit complex overall, but Venezuela's claim seems pretty unfavorably thin in my cursory understanding.

I'm not particularly well researched on it, but I found this thread and the one linked in the tweet quite informative and a useful place to start learning more.



I tend to agree with the analysis that it's an overreach by Venezuela and will be/is getting exploited as a rationalization for further ingratiation by the Guyanese government to the US DoD/US Oil interests (namely Exxon) undermining popular opposition efforts that preceded this latest iteration of this dispute.

BRASILIA, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Brazil's military is reinforcing its northern border due to rising tensions between its neighbors Venezuela and Guyana over Venezuela's claim to the Esequibo region, the Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday.

The Brazilian army is moving armored vehicles and more troops to Boa Vista, the capital of Roraima state that borders both Venezuela and Guyana after Venezuelans voted in a referendum on Sunday to approve the annexation of the Esequibo.

The four-wheel drive Guaicuru armored vehicles will join an upgraded 18th Mechanized Cavalry Regiment whose force will increase to 600 soldiers to improve security along the border and intensify surveillance to avoid surprises, a military source told Reuters.

"Neither side will be able to take advantage of our territory," the army officer said.

At issue is a 160,000-square km (61,776 square-mile) region more than twice the size of Ireland that is mostly thick jungle. Venezuela reactivated its claim over the Esequibo in recent years after the discovery of offshore oil and gas.

Brazil's top diplomat for Latin America and the Caribbean, Gisela Padovan, said the main road connection between Venezuela and Guyana is through Brazilian territory due the inaccessible terrain of the Esequibo, but its use in any military action would not be accepted by her country.

"We are following the situation with concern. I do not believe it will come to an armed conflict," she said in an interview on Monday in which she urged a peaceful resolution.

In Sunday's referendum, Venezuelan voters rejected the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice over their country's territorial dispute with Guyana and supported the creation of a new Venezuelan state in the potentially oil-rich Esequibo region.

The court on Friday prohibited Venezuela from taking any action that would alter the status quo in the area, but President Nicolas Maduro's leftist government went ahead with the referendum.

Brazil did not ask Venezuela to cancel the vote, but President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government is expected to criticize the stepped up Venezuelan campaign for the Esequibo.

The region has been in dispute since the 19th century, when Guyana was a British colony. An international tribunal in Paris in 1899 settled the issue, but Venezuela says the ruling was rigged.

The United States says it is fully backing Guyana against Venezuela’s threat to annex its oil-rich western territory as tensions soar over their border dispute.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed Washington’s position that Guyana has full sovereignty over its 159,500sq km (61,600sq-mile) Essequibo region, in a call with Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali late on Wednesday.

During the call, Blinken also urged for a peaceful resolution to the crisis, the US State Department said.

Venezuelans on Sunday voted overwhelmingly to annex oil-rich Essequibo, which their government claims forms a natural part of Venezuelan territory and was unfairly delegated to Guyana more than a century ago.

“We would like the United Nations Security Council to issue a very strong statement to Venezuela in relation to Venezuela breaching the order of the ICJ [International Court of Justice] – an order that can be enforceable,” Ali told Al Jazeera in an interview.

“And we would like to see the full commitment of the United Nations Security Council to ensure that they do everything to have this region remain a region of peace and stability,” he added.

Sunday’s vote was held despite the ICJ warning Venezuela against “taking any action” that could alter the region’s status quo.

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday called for a bill to create a “Guyana Esequiba” province and ordered Venezuelan companies to prepare to enter the territory to explore for fossil fuels and minerals “immediately”.

Guyana’s president has said the country will do whatever it must to stave off the annexation threat, putting the armed forces on “alert”.

Guyana has also turned to regional allies for muscle, with Brazil sending troops to its northern border with Venezuela.

“We take this threat very seriously, and we have initiated a number of precautionary measures to ensure the peace and stability of this region,” Ali said on Wednesday.

“Should Venezuela proceed to act in this reckless and adventurous manner, the region will have to respond,” he said. “And that is what we’re building. We’re building a regional response.”

But even as tensions simmer, Guyana and Venezuela have agreed to “keep communication channels open”, the Caracas government said.

Longstanding dispute

Venezuela has for decades laid claim to Essequibo, claiming that the Essequibo River to the region’s east forms a natural border and has historically been recognised as such.

However, Guyana, of which Essequibo makes up more than two-thirds and hosts 125,000 of its 800,000 citizens, has administered the territory since the frontiers were determined by an arbitration panel in 1899.

The area is located in the heart of the Guiana Shield, a geographical region in the northeast of South America and one of the four last pristine tropical forests in the world mined with natural and mineral resources, including large reserves of gold, copper, diamond, iron and aluminium among others.

The region also has the world’s biggest reserves of crude oil per capita. Just last month, Guyana announced a “significant” new oil discovery, adding to estimated reserves of at least 10 billion barrels – more than Kuwait or the United Arab Emirates.

With these resources, the country is set to surpass the oil production of Venezuela, and by 2025, according to projections, the country is on track to become the world’s largest per-capita crude producer.

Venezuela’s interest in the territory piqued in 2015 when ExxonMobil announced it had found oil in commercial quantities off the Essequibo coast.

On December 16 2023 03:35 JimmiC wrote:

Nothing says libertarian like putting in a bunch of new government rules!

On December 16 2023 09:11 GoTuNk! wrote:
Did you not watch the videos? This people routinely block streets, loot business and atack the police. They act coordinated and are politically organized. They even forced a previous president to resign. A significant amount of them has a criminal record and even pending warrants.

No one is cracking on "protest and civil dissent".

On December 16 2023 09:11 GoTuNk! wrote:
Did you not watch the videos? This people routinely block streets, loot business and atack the police. They act coordinated and are politically organized. They even forced a previous president to resign. A significant amount of them has a criminal record and even pending warrants.

No one is cracking on "protest and civil dissent".