US to conduct military flights over Guyana as fears of a Venezuela invasion grow

The US made a show of force in the skies over Guyana on Thursday as the Biden administration said it was supporting the country amid growing fears that Venezuela was about to launch an invasion.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro raised the stakes this week by ordering the withdrawal of maps and telling state-owned companies to exploit disputed oil and mineral deposits.

The dictator has stepped up his rhetoric and slide towards war, claiming a Sunday referendum has given him a clear mandate to claim sovereignty over Guyana's oil-rich Essequibo region.

Late Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Guyanese President Irfan Ali to say he had the “unwavering support” of the US.

Hours later, in a sign of a rapidly advancing diplomatic and military response, the US Embassy in the capital Georgetown announced that the US Southern Command would conduct flight operations over the country, alongside the Guyana Defense Force.

The US has thrown its support behind Guyana as Venezuela moves troops closer to the border and President Nicolás Maduro lays claim to the mineral-rich Essequibo region

Venezuelan troops in various disguises and carrying various weapons in Caracus, Venezuela, in 2017. Hundreds have been moved close to the border with Guyana in recent weeks

“This exercise builds on routine engagements and operations to strengthen the United States-Guyana security partnership and strengthen regional cooperation,” the report said.

It added that the two nations would continue to work on air and maritime security.

“The US will continue its commitment as Guyana's trusted security partner and promote regional cooperation and interoperability,” it added.

Although the flights are announced as an exercise, no one can doubt that they are intended as a signal to Venezuela to withdraw.

Venezuelan troops with heavy weapons have massed on the eastern border in recent weeks, putting Guyanese forces on high alert.

Adding to the sense of crisis, a military helicopter with seven people on board disappeared near the border on Wednesday, although authorities say it disappeared in bad weather.

An invasion could draw other countries into a broader South American war.

Brazil has sent hundreds of troops to its northern border and on Thursday morning the country's left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called on regional bodies to help broker a peaceful solution.

“We do not want or need war in South America,” he said.

Maduro may have other ideas.

On Tuesday he appeared on television to explain his case for the annexation of almost three-quarters of Guyana. He waved a map showing the Esequibo region under Caracas control.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro renewed his country's ambitions to annex nearly three-quarters of neighboring oil-rich Guyana, presenting a televised map showing Guyana's Esequibo region under Caracas' jurisdiction.

“The world needs to know – the Republic of Guyana needs to know… the Esequibo is ours,” he said.

Analysts think it could all be a patriotic bluff, the kind of move that distracts voters from the president's unpopularity ahead of next year's election.

Guyana maintains that the border defined by an arbitration panel in 1899 is the correct one.

“We take this threat very seriously and we have taken a number of precautionary measures to ensure peace and stability in this region,” President Ali told the Associated Press.