Maduro Whips Up Guyana Tension, Opposition Arrests to Stay in Charge in Venezuela

And he’s rattled even regional allies in recent days by calling for a large chunk of land claimed by neighboring Guyana to become a Venezuelan state, threatening to shut down oil producers who do business there. While Venezuela’s assertion of rights to the territory known as the Essequibo date back more than a century, Maduro’s choice to escalate the dispute now is adding to the sense of chaos in Caracas.