Venezuela rejects US warning over Essequibo dispute

ISTANBUL

Venezuela’s defense minister on Thursday rejected a warning from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio over the country’s territorial dispute with neighboring Guyana.

Rubio warned Venezuela that any attack on Guyana or US-based oil company ExxonMobil would result in serious consequences, saying it would be “a very bad day” for Caracas.

In a statement posted on Instagram, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez rejected what he called "delusional threats" from Rubio.

Padrino Lopez said Venezuela has no intention of attacking Guyana but warned against US involvement, saying it could escalate tensions in the region.

The dispute between Venezuela and Guyana over the 160,000-square-km Essequibo region is before the International Court of Justice.

Venezuela’s defense minister says the 1966 Geneva Agreement remains the valid legal framework for resolving the matter, and has accused Guyana of allowing “imperial interference” by granting oil licenses to foreign companies in contested waters.