Venezuela army deployed until UK removes warship off Guyana: Def. Min.
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The Venezuelan Minister of Defense warns that until the United Kingdom draws out the warship it had deployed off Guyana's coast, Venezuela will continue to deploy its military forces throughout the country.
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Soldiers march during a military parade marking the country's Independence Day in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, July 5, 2017 (AP)
Venezuelan Minister of Defense Vladimir Padrino Lopez warned that until the United Kingdom draws out the warship it had deployed off Guyana's coast, Venezuela will continue to deploy its military forces across the country.
"There ... on the Atlantic coast we [the Venezuelan armed forces] will remain [deployed] until this British imperialist vessel leaves the disputed waters between Venezuela and Guyana," Padrino Lopez said on X on Saturday.
Last week, UK media reported, citing a UK Defense Ministry spokesperson, that the country would deploy a naval patrol ship to Guyana as a sign of support for its former colony in the territorial dispute with Venezuela over the Essequibo region.
This came after a British junior foreign minister visited the former British colony to extend Britain's support in light of the Essequibo dispute between Guyana and Venezuela.
Slamming the action, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said it violated the "spirit" of an agreement signed between Venezuelan and Guyanese authorities.
Maduro called the deployment "practically a military threat" from Britain and described it as the "breaking of the spirit of dialogue, diplomacy and peace of the agreements."
In a TV address, the Venezuelan President ordered "the activation of a joint defensive action of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces" off the coast of Essequibo but did not elaborate on details.
Military authorities in Venezuela's east warned that 5,600 troops were ready for the operation.
The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry expressed that the country "reserves all actions, within the framework of the Constitution and International Law, to defend its maritime and territorial integrity."
Just yesterday, Padrino Lopez took to X to announce the conduction of military exercises in preparation for the defense of their country.
"It's time to defend Venezuela!" the Minister said.
Imágenes del Ejercicio de Acción Conjunta “General Domingo Sifontes” ¡Es hora de defender a Venezuela! pic.twitter.com/OQ2exHQH7C
— Vladimir Padrino L. (@vladimirpadrino) December 30, 2023
