Caracas (AFP) – Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday ordered more than 5,600 military personnel to participate in a "defensive" exercise near the border with Guyana, in response to Britain sending a warship to the area.

The senior administration official said additional individuals are not being named, citing their privacy.

The presidents of Venezuela and Guyana pledged after direct talks on Thursday not to resort to force to settle a long-simmering – and recently reheated – territorial dispute over the oil-rich Essequibo region, a joint statement said.

The presidents of Venezuela and Guyana met Thursday in the Caribbean for talks that analysts say could "de-escalate" tensions but will do little to resolve their countries' long-standing -- and now reheating -- territorial dispute.

A Power-Sharing Deal Is the Only Way to Resolve the Country’s Political Conflict

The next war to upset the global equilibrium may be brewing in South America.

Turnout was minimal in vote on referendum intended to rubber-stamp Venezuela’s claim to Essequibo region

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is organising a referendum on Sunday to decide whether to create a new state in the Essequibo territory, an area currently under the control of neighbouring Guyana. Does Caracas have the means for its territorial ambitions, or is it just political grandstanding? 

The White House has warned that Caracas must make more progress in releasing “political prisoners” to avoid being punished again

Trudeau government backed US-led push to install rival leader

Challenger to crisis-ridden presidency of Nicolás Maduro claims victory after Venezuelans queue for hours in rainstorm to vote

Juan Guaido fled to Miami earlier this year after three of four Venezuelan opposition factions deserted him

The Venezuelan leader has claimed the White House was directly involved in the 2018 plot

Juan Guaidó landed in Miami, marking the end of an attempt to undercut Nicolás Maduro’s regime with a parallel government.

The move marked an end to a political gambit in which he was recognized as the country’s legitimate president as part of an unsuccessful bid to oust authoritarian Nicolás Maduro from power.

Venezuela's government and the opposition have signed a preliminary agreement to find a way out of the country's political crisis.

Deadly landslides have swept away homes in Venezuela's Las Tejerias city, south of the capital Caracas.

Venezuela has freed seven jailed Americans in exchange for the release of two relatives of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, the two countries have confirmed.

Venezuela released two jailed U.S. citizens on Tuesday in an apparent goodwill gesture toward the Biden administration following a visit to Caracas by a high-level U.S. delegation.

President Nicolas Maduro insists that Moscow’s conflict with Kiev was ‘provoked’ by the West