Guyana, Venezuela agree to avoid conflict escalation

The leaders of Guyana and Venezuela agreed to avoid any escalation of conflict amid a recent heightening of tensions over an oil-rich and disputed border area.

Tension over the land, which amounts to about two-thirds of Guyanese national territory, has mounted in recent days after a Venezuelan referendum in which voters assented to the creation of a Venezuelan state within the disputed region. Guyana has called the move a step towards annexation and an “existential” threat.