After the UK deploys a warship to Guyana, Venezuela will conduct military exercises.

Venezuela has directed its armed forces to conduct military exercises in reaction to the United Kingdom's decision to send a warship to support neighboring Guyana. Military leaders announced that 5,600 soldiers would participate in "defensive" exercises along Venezuela's eastern Caribbean and Atlantic coasts.

The move comes after Venezuelan voters endorsed the creation of a new state in the oil-rich Essequibo region, a territory administered by Guyana for decades. In a televised address, President Nicolás Maduro framed the exercises as a response to the perceived provocation and threat posed by the UK against the peace and sovereignty of Venezuela. He characterized the UK's actions as a "practically a military threat from London" and a violation of the recent agreement between Venezuela and Guyana not to resort to force in settling their dispute.

The UK's decision to deploy HMS Trent to the Caribbean, initially for anti-drug smuggling operations, was re-evaluated after Venezuela's government threatened to annex the Essequibo region. President Maduro decried the UK's actions, emphasizing that it contradicted the spirit of the bilateral agreement.

Guyanese Vice-President Bharrat Jagdeo downplayed the situation, describing the UK warship's presence as routine and part of building defensive capabilities. He assured that Guyana had no intentions of invading Venezuela and stressed that President Maduro need not be concerned about such a scenario.

The dispute over the Essequibo region has long been a point of contention between Venezuela and Guyana. Venezuela asserts ownership of the 61,000 sq-mile area, comprising about two-thirds of Guyana, challenging the border established in an 1899 international agreement. However, Guyana, and British Guiana before it, has administered Essequibo for over a century.

As tensions rise with military exercises underway, the situation highlights the complex geopolitical dynamics in the region and the ongoing challenges in resolving territorial disputes.