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Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva urged his counterpart Nicolas Maduro on Saturday against the expansion of Venezuela’s border with neighboring Guyana, while South American leaders watched with concern the deepening of the conflict.
Tensions have been rising in the oil-rich Essequibo region controlled by Guyana since Maduro’s government held an election last weekend in which 95 percent of voters supported recognition. Venezuela is its rightful owner, according to official decisions.
Leftist Lula, who has remained close to Maduro, issued a clear warning in a phone call with his Venezuelan counterpart, according to a statement from his office.
“Lula emphasized the importance of avoiding special measures that may increase the situation,” said the Brazilian presidency.
It is said that Lula told Maduro about other South American countries “that there is growing concern,” citing a joint declaration on Thursday by Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay which required “both sides to negotiate to find a peace. solution.”
Colombian President Gustavo Petro also sent a warning.
“The worst thing that could happen to South America is a war,” he wrote on X, first Twitter.
“The repetition of a local organization of conflict NATO / Russia in the Amazon forest will only destroy the important time, progress and life … Venezuela and Guyana need to reduce the conflict. “
– Call for mediation –
Guyana has controlled the Essequibo, which makes up more than two-thirds of its territory, for more than a century.
But Venezuela said it for years. The crisis escalated when ExxonMobil discovered oil in Essequibo in 2015, helping to give Guyana – population 800,000 – the world’s largest oil reserves per capita.
Since last Sunday’s election, Maduro has begun the legal process to create a Venezuelan province in Essequibo and ordered the state oil company to issue licenses for oil extraction in the region.
The United States meanwhile announced joint exercises with Guyana, which Venezuela condemned as “provocative.”
The Security Council of the United Nations held a closed meeting on Friday regarding the conflict, which is the subject of trials before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Lula’s office said that he recommended in his discussion with Maduro for the head of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States to contact both sides to arrange discussions.
Lula has so far maintained friendly relations with Maduro, inviting him to a South American summit in May even as other regional leaders criticized Venezuela’s human rights record.
But the Essequibo dispute is fraught with danger for Brazil, which borders both Guyana and Venezuela.
Brazil has sent troops to its northern border amid unrest.
jhb/md