"Where there is conflict, there is the United States" is quite profound. After successively intervening in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the United States recently began to intervene in a third dispute. This time, the focus of the dispute fell on the "backyard" of the United States, between Venezuela and Guyana. Once a major global oil exporter, Venezuela was once wealthy, but its economic situation has deteriorated dramatically due to US sanctions. Today's Venezuela has become a "vanguard of resistance to the United States", although its national strength is not as good as that of the United States, but it has never bowed its head. Guyana may be unfamiliar to you, a country in northern South America bordering the Atlantic Ocean that was once colonized by Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom before gaining independence in 1966. Although the country is small in size and has a population of less than one million, it has abundant oil resources. Relying on oil exports, Guyana has become one of the countries with the highest per capita GDP in South America, with a per capita GDP of nearly $20,000 last year. Guyana's oil wealth has also sparked a dispute with Venezuela.
A few years ago, the American oil company ExxonMobil discovered staggering oil reserves in the Essequibo region controlled by Guyana, with reserves of more than 10 billion barrels. This led to a renewed claim to Essequibo, which was originally part of Venezuela but was forcibly ceded to Guyana by the United States and Britain. Since then, the dispute over sovereignty over the Essequibo region has continued until it escalated in October. The trigger was Venezuela's seizure of an oil exploration ship from Guyana. The former considers the latter's oil exploration activities in the Essequibo region to be a violation of their sovereignty. At present, the situation has developed to the point where there are signs of use of force in Venezuela. On December 6, Maduro asked the Venezuelan army to send an army to the border with the Essequibo region, according to the Global Times. Guyana sensed the gravity of the situation and immediately turned to the United States for help. On December 7, the U.S. Embassy in Guyana announced that U.S. Southern Command and the Guyana military held a joint air exercise Xi.
Obviously, the purpose of this joint military exercise is to send a warning to Venezuela not to act rashly and not to covet the Ethiopian region. It also announced the formal involvement of the United States in the dispute. If this does not work and the situation does not ease, the United States will certainly have other means in the future. Most likely, economic sanctions, which are the usual and tried and tested tactics of the United States against Venezuela. Over the past few years, Venezuela's economy has fallen into a depression under severe US sanctions, with oil exports plummeting, its currency devaluation even worse, and soaring domestic prices, which have almost brought it to bankruptcy. It is no exaggeration to say that the United States does have the ability to bring Venezuela into a difficult situation without a single soldier. Therefore, after the US intervenes, Maduro should think carefully about whether to temporarily contain the dispute, put aside the sovereignty dispute in the Essequibo region, and find ways to revive Venezuela's economy first, after all, this is the most important thing. The issue of sovereignty in the Essequibo region is a "hard nut" for Venezuela, and it may not be resolved even if all efforts are made.
And the United States, on the other hand, did not hesitate to stand on the side of Guyana, and it also had a plan. For a long time, Latin America has always been regarded by the United States as its "backyard," and its influence and status in Latin America cannot be shaken by any foreign country. However, changes in Latin American politics in recent years, coupled with the impetus of the wave of global multipolarity, have made these countries no longer as submissive to the United States as they used to be. When Biden took office, his goal was to stop this trend. The dispute is an opportunity for Biden to demonstrate the U.S. presence in the region to Latin American countries. It is also a warning to other countries that "Latin America is the sphere of influence of the United States, and other countries should not point fingers." As for whether this dispute will subside after the United States intervenes?There is a high probability that it will not, but it may be upgraded. It has almost become a theore that any geopolitical event, as long as the United States is involved, tends to become more complicated and dangerous. This is true of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and the situation on the Korean Peninsula. So, how exactly should this dispute be resolved?There is only one answer – dialogue and negotiation.
As China has responded, China has always supported the proper settlement of the border dispute between Venezuela and Guyana through friendly consultations. This is not only in the common interests of the two peoples, but also conducive to maintaining stability, cooperation, and development in Latin America. And it is not advisable to resort to force.