THE US Coast Guard (USCG) carried out joint operations with Guyana on Saturday in waters contested by Venezuela.
The Guyana Defence Force and USCG vessel Cutter Stone carried out a patrol just off the coast of Guyana in the part of the North Atlantic known as the Stabroek Block — oil-rich waters which are claimed by Caracas.
The highly provocative move comes after a so-called shiprider agreement — ostensibly for joint patrols to stop the movement of drugs — was signed with Guyana by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in September 2020, as he toured the region in an attempt to build support for regime change in Venezuela.