Venezuela’s Bolivarian National Armed Forces were placed on “alert status” on Sunday following accusations by the Caracas government of an alleged plot against the oil company ExxonMobil in the maritime zone of the Essequibo, currently administered by Guyana but claimed by Venezuela. The area, spanning 160,000 square kilometres, has become a key point of bilateral tensions since ExxonMobil discovered large oil reserves there in 2015.
The Venezuelan military command expressed its “iron will” to “respond with vigorous action” to any attempt perceived as a threat to the country’s sovereignty or territorial integrity. This statement follows comments by Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, who on Saturday referred to a planned “false flag operation” targeting ExxonMobil platforms, intended to falsely implicate Venezuela in an unprovoked act of aggression.
Diplomatic tensions surrounding the Essequibo
During an official visit to Georgetown on March 27, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that any Venezuelan attack on Guyana would carry “consequences”. His remarks came amid Guyana’s recent complaint of a Venezuelan military vessel entering its territorial waters.
Vice President Rodríguez publicly accused Marco Rubio of being involved in the alleged attack plan, along with Erik Prince, founder of the private security company Blackwater. She also accused Venezuelan opposition leaders, though no tangible evidence was provided to support these claims.
Territorial dispute and oil implications
The dispute over the Essequibo dates back to colonial times. Guyana asserts that its border was established in 1899 by an arbitral court in Paris, while Venezuela maintains that the 1966 Geneva Agreement, signed before Guyana’s independence, provides for a bilateral settlement outside the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In 2023, the Venezuelan government held a referendum on annexing the Essequibo and passed legislation the following year to make it the country’s 24th state.
ExxonMobil’s presence in the disputed waters has added a major strategic and economic layer to the conflict, heightening tensions between the two nations and drawing international attention to the region’s stability risks.
