Venezuela activates its navy in response to the arrival of the British ship Trent
The United Kingdom, as written in these pages, has decided to send the HMS Trent to Guyana to help the country in the dispute with Venezuela, but the move risks being counterproductive, at a time when the two South American countries had previously agreed to exclude military methods to assert one's rights.
The British move has in fact sparked a reaction in Venezuela. AFP reports the following statements from Maduro's office:
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordered more than 5,600 military personnel to take part in a "defensive" exercise on Thursday, after Britain said it planned to send a Royal Navy warship to waters off neighboring Guyana.
Maduro said he had initiated “a joint action of a defensive nature in response to the provocation and threat of the United Kingdom against the peace and sovereignty of our country.”
Before the current standoff, HMS Trent had monitored the Caribbean for drug traffickers as a naval patrol vessel offshore. It is armed with cannons and usually carries a unit of Royal Marines and a helicopter gunship.
HMS Trent
It has been confirmed that the vessel is now in regional waters :
HMS Trent was due to stop in Bridgetown, Barbados, after leaving her home port of Gibraltar earlier this month. The ship is expected to head to Guyana this week and drop anchor off Georgetown to take part in a series of exercises with the country's navy and other allies, the BBC reported.
The border dispute has been a source of tension and disagreement since the 19th century, but Maduro recently called for a referendum to decide whether his government should use force to finally resolve it. He then provocatively announced that 95% of Venezuelan citizens voted in favor of forced annexation. This drew swift condemnation from Caracas' long-time enemies, the United States and Britain.
Venezuelan forces were placed on "high alert" on Wednesday following reports that the British warship was moving towards the coast.
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López issued a stark warning about X in response to the presence of HMS Trent. “A warship in unconfined waters?” he declared.
The Declaration of Argyle has equal value and must be respected. Guyana is obligated to its honor of good faith, without attacks or surprises. Ah, this is the path of dialogue, the international dispute and the sharp edge of 1966 to resolve the controversy peacefully… https://t.co/unQrxq0rZj
— Delcy Rodríguez (@delcyrodriguezv) December 28, 2023
“ How do you reconcile this with the commitment to good neighborliness and peaceful coexistence? And with the agreement not to threaten or use force against the other under any circumstances? Let us remain alert to these provocations which put at risk the peace and stability of the Caribbean and our America !”, he warned, saying that the previous agreement with Guyanese leader Irfaan Ali on the use of force was being called into question.
In short, the British presence makes the game more complicated.
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The article Venezuela activates the navy in response to the arrival of the British ship Trent comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/il-venezuela-attiva-la-marina-militare-il-risposta-allarrivo-della-nave-britannica-trent/ on Fri, 29 Dec 2023 07:00:55 +0000.