UK Deploys Military Ship to the Caribbean Sea, Venezuela Warns

On Sunday, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez asserted that Venezuela is maintaining heightened alerts after the United Kingdom announced the dispatch of a warship to Guyana amid the territorial dispute between the two South American countries.

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"A warship in waters to be delimited? What? What about the commitment to good neighborliness and peaceful coexistence? And what about the agreement not to threaten or use force mutually under any circumstances?" he asked.

"We remain vigilant in the face of these provocations that jeopardize the peace and stability of the Caribbean and our Americas!" the Bolivarian Defense Minister stated, alluding to the potential threat posed by the British presence to the Venezuela-Guyana agreements signed in St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Dec. 14.

On that day, Venezuelan President Nicolss Maduro and Guyanese President Irfaan Ali pledged not to mutually threaten each other and to "avoid incidents" regarding the Essequibo, a territory of 160,000 square kilometers rich in natural resources, gas, and oil.

On Sunday, the British BBC reported that the United Kingdom is preparing to send the HMS Trent warship as a "show of military and diplomatic support" to Guyana.

The controversy over the Essequibo escalated after Venezuelans reaffirmed their sovereignty over the territory through a referendum on Dec. 3. Subsequently, in response to the popular mandate, the Venezuelan state appointed provisional authorities for that area.

"The HMS Trent will visit our regional allies and Commonwealth partners in Guyana later this month as part of a series of commitments in the region during its deployment on Atlantic patrol," confirmed a spokesperson for the British Defense Ministry.