Venezuela extends crackdown on Colombia border to 4th state

President David Granger says Venezuela is treading a risky course.

Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said on Tuesday the armed forces were conducting military exercises in both the east and west of the country.

This latest move by Venezuela follows the May 26th decree issued by President Nicholas Maduro claiming sovereignty over Guyana’s territorial waters in the Atlantic Ocean off the Essequibo region which had seen a slew of public statements being made by Guyana and Venezuela on the decades long controversy. “Rather than seeking a peaceful resolution of the matter, Venezuela seems to be pursuing a very offensive and aggressive course”, Granger said.

“What we have noticed during the month of September is an extraordinary escalation of Venezuelan military activity in eastern Venezuela”, said the retired brigadier. Venezuela has recently sent troops to its border with Colombia in a crackdown on smuggling.

Granger will address the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on September 29 and his foreign minister will be meeting with the Group of 77, the Non Aligned Movement and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation at the sidelines of the UNGA.

Granger had said previously he will tell UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that Guyana is no longer interested in continuing a 23-year old mediation process, which Venezuela wants to revive.

Guyana maintains that valid land borders were set in an 1899 arbitration court decision, a ruling Venezuela has never recognized.

The purported annexation of the waters off Essequibo now takes in the oil-rich Stabroek Block, where American oil giant Exxon Mobil in May found a “significant” reserve of high quality crude oil.

The Maduro government did not respond to requests for comment on any deployment.

St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): A Guyanese woman living in St. Kitts and Nevis protested held placards along the airport road Wednesday just as an entourage of President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro was leaving the airport towards Basseterre for another ceremony after his arrival.