Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordered state-run companies to begin oil exploration and mining activity in neighboring Guyana on Tuesday, sparking new fears of outright conflict over the oil- and mineral-rich Essequibo territory.
Speaking to the public in a televised address on Tuesday, Maduro said he has authorized Venezuelan oil company PDVSA and the country’s iron and steel maker, CVG, to begin “immediately” creating new divisions for the disputed territory and said Caracas will proceed with authorizing operating licenses for both companies for the exploration of oil, gas, and mines in the territory.
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“I propose a special law to ban all companies that operate with Guyanese concessions from any transaction,” Maduro said, adding that Guyanese companies will have three months to withdraw from the area before Venezuela's state-run companies begin operations.
Venezuela will also proceed with the creation of a "special military unit" for the territory, which will be based in a neighboring territory, Maduro said.
His belligerent remarks come just days after Venezuela held a referendum on the future of the Essequibo region, which asked voters to approve the establishment of a new state in the Essequibo area and whether or not current and future residents there should be granted citizenship.
Venezuela's National Electoral Council claimed 10.5 million voters turned out and passed the five-question ballot with 95% approval, though those numbers were not independently verified, and few voters were reportedly seen at polling sites across the country.
The referendum, which Maduro has declared as "binding," was also held at the express disapproval of the International Court of Justice, which had ordered the Venezuelan government just days before not to take any action that would alter Guyana’s control over the Essequibo region.
Maduro's latest rhetoric has sparked new alarm in Guyana and neighboring Latin American countries.
Brazil's Defense Ministry said Tuesday that it is continuing to reinforce its northern border ahead of a feared Venezuela-Guyana conflict and is currently moving armored vehicles and additional troops to the Brazilian Boa Vista state, which shares a border with both countries.
"Neither side will be able to take advantage of our territory," one army officer told Reuters.
Meanwhile, Guyanese President Irfaan Ali said he is reporting the matter to both the United Nations Security Council and the ICJ and that he has already spoken to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
“The Guyana Defence Force is on high alert,” Ali said in a televised address late Tuesday night, saying Maduro's regime has shown a "blatant disregard" for international law.
“Venezuela has clearly declared itself an outlaw nation," Ali added.
The Essequibo territory is roughly 61,000 square miles and comprises two-thirds of Guyana’s landmass, as decided by international arbiters in 1899.
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Guyana has argued any action from Venezuela to claim it would amount to annexation. Venezuela’s interest in the Essequibo region was revived in 2015, when Exxon Mobil discovered a massive offshore oil reserve in its waters. Since then, some 46 offshore discoveries have been made, accounting for more than 11 billion barrels of recoverable oil resources.
Earlier this fall, Venezuela criticized an offshore oil auction held by Guyana, arguing that it has no claim to the territory and that the action is a violation of international law.