Marco Rubio recently traveled to Guyana, where he threatened military action against Venezuela – continuing a long history of imperialist countries using border disputes to disrupt Latin American unity and economic cooperation.

In the historic dispute over the Essequibo, Rubio clarified that US military forces are on Guyana’s side. Venezuela categorically rejected Rubio’s statements as belligerent.

The two leaders gathered following a letter by Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines calling to defuse rising tensions.

It is clear that the Venezuelans who came to cast their vote on December 3 in a referendum on the Essequibo region saw this less as a conflict between Venezuela and Guyana and more as a conflict between ExxonMobil and the people of these two Latin American countries