Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is asking the country’s state-owned companies to “immediately” begin to explore and exploit the oil, gas and mines in Guyana’s Essequibo region, a territory larger than Greece and rich in oil and minerals that Venezuela claims as its own.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Tuesday directed the country’s state-owned companies to “immediately” begin to explore and exploit the oil, gas and mines in Guyana’s Essequibo region, a territory larger than Greece and rich in oil and minerals that Venezuela claims as its own.

The announcement came a day a day after Maduro got the victory he sought in a weekend referendum on whether to claim sovereignty over the region.

Maduro said he would “immediately” proceed “to grant operating licenses for the exploration and exploitation of oil, gas and mines in the entire area of our Essequibo.” He also ordered the creation of local subsidiaries of Venezuelan public companies, including oil giant PDVSA and mining conglomerate Corporación Venezolana de Guayana.

  • NOT_RICK@lemmy.worldEnglish
    15·
    11 months ago

    Russia will be happy for another conflict to distract the US so I’d expect them to veto any action, unfortunately

    • HobbitFoot @thelemmy.clubEnglish
      3·
      11 months ago

      A Russia veto could happen, but I expect the USA to use the Organization of American States as backup justification if needed.

    • PhlubbaDubba@lemm.eeEnglish
      3·
      11 months ago

      Which is kinda stupid because this multi-theater approach is basically what the US military is built for, and it’s not even multi-theater, the US wouldn’t suddenly not be able to provide aid to Ukraine while prosecuting a war with a force established for a completely different theater of combat.

      Like the Soviets collapsed because the US just spending raced them into oblivion, Russia is not going to be able to pull an uno reverse card on that shit, especially from under all those sanctions they’ve gotten themselves into.

      • NOT_RICK@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        11 months ago

        I think they’re counting on congressional aid drying up as the American public gets distracted by other conflicts

        • PhlubbaDubba@lemm.eeEnglish
          5·
          11 months ago

          Which is kinda silly to count on since lack of direct attention from the American public has hardly been a hamper on the goings on of US military assistance, if anything not knowing the gritty details will enable the MIC to give Ukraine even more fun toys since now there isn’t a constant check out of fear of escalating.

          • NOT_RICK@lemmy.worldEnglish
            1·
            11 months ago

            I’d agree if isolationist republicans didn’t seem so hell bent on completely fucking up US foreign policy. We didn’t have that in the 80’s