US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Venezuela on Thursday. In fact, he said at a joint press conference in Georgetown, the capital of Guyana, “America will take strict action if Venezuela invades her oil -rich neighbor Guyana. ‘ Rubio says that, ‘I can say with full confidence that if Venezuela takes an aggressive step, they will have to face the consequences.’

After this statement, Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro reacted strongly and described Rubio as a ‘fool’. He said, ‘No one can threaten Venezuela.’

Security agreement and increasing tension

During his Guyana tour, Rubio signed an agreement to strengthen security cooperation between the two countries. The agreement includes exchange of intelligence and joint maritime patrol. This agreement is part of the cooperation between the US and Guyana for many years. Guyana President Irfan Ali welcomed the strong position of America and termed his claim on the EsseKibo region of Venezuela as ‘illegal’.

Venezuela Foreign Minister Ywan Gill responded through Telegram, in which he said that Venezuela does not want to struggle, but we will not allow foreign interests to try to change the reality about our Essequet. ‘ He said, ‘Stop entering your nose in this dispute!’

Oil resources and increasing importance

This border dispute is centuries old. Guyana says that an arbitration decision in 1899 has resolved the dispute, while Venezuela says that Essekibo River is a natural border and its base is on the maps of 1777, in 2015, Exonmobil discovered huge oil reserves in the sea, after which the dispute took more significant form. The production capacity of Guyana is expected to reach 1.3 million barrels per day by the end of this decade, which is higher than the current production of Venezuela.

America’s policy and pressure

Meanwhile, America’s Venezuela policy has become even more aggressive. Under the pressure of anti-commercial Latino MPs, the US has imposed strict sanctions on the Maduro government, in which the exemption given to Chevron in the country has been canceled. Rubio later visited Surinam, which is another fast growing oil-productive nation, clarifying the strategic importance of the region for the US.