Venezuela is substantiating its intentions to annex a portion of Guyana and secure access to substantial oil reservoirs, posing a renewed security challenge for the Biden administration.

The country has deployed light tanks, missile-equipped patrol boats, and armored carriers to the shared border, as revealed in satellite images disclosed on Friday and videos disseminated by Venezuela’s military on social media.

This militaristic move represents a notable escalation in Caracas’s efforts to gain influence over Guyana’s newfound energy assets.

It transpires despite a written agreement reached in December between Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Guyanese President Irfaan Ali, which explicitly denounced the use of force and advocated for a commission to address territorial disputes.

In recent months, the Venezuelan government, armed with up to 150,000 active soldiers and advanced weaponry from its ally Russia, has amplified its claims to the Essequibo, a predominantly jungle-covered region constituting two-thirds of Guyana, the Wall Street Journal reported.

This development, coupled with increasingly belligerent rhetoric from Caracas, coincides with Guyana’s emergence as a prominent energy hub due to offshore oil discoveries led by an Exxon Mobil consortium.

With a modest defense force of only 3,000 service members in the former British colony, which has a population of 800,000, the Guyanese government is compelled to collaborate more closely with the U.S. to bolster its defensive capabilities.

Written by B.C. Begley