The United States carries out military drills to deter the possible invasion of Venezuela into Guyana

The United States carried out deterrence maneuvers in Guyana to try to prevent an invasion by Venezuela. The United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) conducted the military exercises in conjunction with the Guyana Defense Force (GDF). Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan dictator, recently held a referendum on whether his country should annex most of its neighboring territory.

Although American officials have not yet observed Venezuelan maneuvers that suggest an imminent invasion, they warned that just a small force deployed by Venezuela could generate the need for a “global response,” which could add to conflicts between Russia and Ukraine or China and Taiwan.

“I’d be careful drawing too strong connective tissue between routine military operations that we do in the region and this particular issue. That said, as I said before, we recognize the sovereign territory of Guyana, and as we do with many nations — sovereign nations — in the region, we conduct operations and exercises as appropriate,” John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator for the White House National Security Council, commented.

“We absolutely stand by our unwavering support for Guyana’s sovereignty,” the official added, noting that people should not attach much importance to the military exercises.

Irfaan Ali, president of Guyana, defined Maduro’s actions as “threats” against his sovereignty. “I believe that this open challenge threatens the stability of the region, it is a direct threat to Guyana and the companies that operate here,” he added.

Geopolitical experts indicated that the Venezuelan dictator could simply be trying to rock the boat to have the pretext to declare martial law before the country’s elections next year.

“The Venezuelan armed forces might have enough equipment to make some kind of show of force, but it really does not have the men for a serious effort,” said Manuel Cristopher Figuera, a retired major general in the Venezuelan army. “This is a farce — a perfect farce to declare martial law,” he said.