Venezuela Troop Build-Up Breaches International Law

• Guyana has accused Venezuela of violating international law in a dispute over a swath of oil-rich territory by expanding its military presence on their shared border despite pledging not to use force.
• Venezuela recently beefed up its military presence on the border of the oil-and-mineral-rich Essequibo region, which makes up about two-thirds of Guyana’s territory but has long been claimed by Caracas. 
• The move followed a December referendum in Venezuela in which voters backed making the region a Venezuelan state, a development regarded by Guyana as a prelude to annexation by Caracas. 
• Guyanese President Irfaan Ali and his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolás Maduro, subsequently signed a declaration agreeing not to use force to settle the dispute.
• But satellite images published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think-tank, appeared to show the deployment of light tanks and armed patrol boats at Anacoco Island on the border of the Essequibo region, where Venezuela is expanding a military base to house up to 300 troops.
• Analysts say tensions are likely to remain high this year between the two countries; however, Guyanese foreign minister Hugh Todd was confident Guyana’s allies would ensure its security, saying: “In the democratic world, you will find that once you’re threatened by a failing democracy, you will not be left alone.”

 (Source: The Financial Times)