Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva warned his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro against any attempt to invade the Essequibo, a province of neighboring Guyana, during a telephone conversation on Saturday, December 9. Caracas currently has its sights set on this oil-rich region.
He told Maduro that “we are a region of peace,” the statement said.
Tension over Essequibo has soared since Maduro’s government held a controversial referendum last weekend in which 95 percent of voters supported declaring Venezuela the region’s rightful owner, according to official results.
Malo Pinatel, with AFP