The United States warns Venezuela not to attack Guyana or harm ExxonMobil's oil interests.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned Venezuela that the United States will take strong action if Guyana is invaded or ExxonMobil's oil assets in the Stabroek Block are attacked. On March 27, Rubio made it clear at a press conference with Guyana's President Irfaan Ali in Georgetown that the U.S. will not tolerate Venezuela's infringement on Guyana's waters or threats to ExxonMobil's operations in the country.

On March 1, a Venezuelan naval patrol ship entered Guyana's exclusive economic zone and informed several vessels associated with ExxonMobil that they had illegally entered Venezuelan waters. Rubio told reporters on March 27 that the United States would no longer tolerate such behavior and reminded Venezuela that the U.S. Navy can operate anywhere in the world.

"If Venezuela attacks Guyana or attacks ExxonMobil, or something similar, it will be a terrible day for the Venezuelan regime," Rubio said.

Rubio's visit to Guyana is part of his diplomatic tour in South America, which also includes a stop in neighboring Suriname, where French energy giant TotalEnergies is developing an offshore oil field with an estimated 750 million barrels that is expected to start producing oil in 2027.

Rubio pledged in his public remarks before meeting Ali that the US would forge a “mutually beneficial” partnership with Guyana, whose newly discovered oil reserves are expected to exceed 1 million barrels per day of production in the coming years.

"We hope for your national security, stability, and prosperity that benefits all citizens," Rubio said. "We want to take Guyana as a model, and this is also a place where we can conduct transactions and engage in commercial cooperation. Such cooperation respects your sovereignty and is crucial to your plans and vision."

Policy towards Venezuela

The desire for cooperation between the United States and Guyana stands in stark contrast to the Trump administration's policies towards neighboring Venezuela.

On February 26, the United States revoked Chevron's license to operate production facilities in Venezuela, reinstating sanctions that had been briefly lifted during President Biden's tenure in 2022. This action was taken because Venezuelan President Maduro had promised to hold open elections in 2024.

The Maduro regime later barred the main opposition candidate, María Corina Machado, from running. Her substitute, Edmundo González, is widely considered by the opposition to have won 70% of the votes based on evidence from polling stations provided by the opposition, but Maduro declared himself the winner without releasing the total vote count and continued to remain in office. González later went into exile in Spain. International observers and the United States criticized the regime for suppressing political dissent since the election on July 28, 2024.

On March 19, Trump threatened that if Maduro does not accept flights returning Venezuelan immigrants from the United States, he would escalate sanctions against Venezuela. On March 25, the U.S. government announced a plan to impose a 25% tariff on all goods imported into the United States from any country purchasing oil from Venezuela.

Editor: Carrie