Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro has ordered the state oil company to issue extraction licences and proposed the National Assembly pass a bill making the oil-rich region Essequibo part of Venezuela.
This follows a referendum by Venezuelan voters claiming rights over Essequibo which is controlled by neighbouring Guyana.
Guyana has put its defence forces on full alert in response, with Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali noting that he has already spoken to the UN secretary general and is asking the UN Security Council to consider intervening.
