Why Venezuela is threatening to annex Guyana’s oil-rich province of Essequibo

The US air force has taken the unusual step of holding joint drills with Guyana as the United Nations scheduled an emergency meeting of the security council to discuss Venezuela’s threat to annex more than two-thirds of the oil-rich South American country.

Guyanese president, Irfaan Ali, appealed to Washington and to the UN after the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, announced that he had taken steps to formalise the incorporation of Essequibo – an oil-rich 160,000sq km region of neighbouring Guyana – as part of Venezuela.

Maduro is a populist nationalist and a dictator, whose country is wracked by poverty. This has contributed to the exodus of more than seven million citizens. Mindful of the fact that presidential elections are due in Venezuela in 2024, Maduro has turned to an issue that he hopes will lead to a rapid turn-around in his popularity.

Venezuela’s territorial dispute with neighbouring Guyana is a longstanding one. It is arguably made worse by the news that there might be oil and gas potential in Essequibo – not just on land but also under the seabed.

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