Venezuela will hold military exercises off its shores as a British warship heads to Guyana

By MANUEL RUEDA
Associated Press

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — President Nicolás Maduro has ordered Venezuela’s armed forces to conduct defensive exercises in the Eastern Caribbean after the United Kingdom announced it would send a warship to Guyana’s territorial waters during a border dispute between the South American neighbors. In a nationally televised address on Thursday, Maduro said that 6,000 Venezuelan troops, including air and naval forces, will conduct joint operations off the nation’s eastern coast — near the border with Guyana. Maduro described the impending arrival of British ship HMS Trent to Guyana’s shores as a “threat” to his country. He argued that the ship’s deployment violates a recent agreement between the neighboring nations.