GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — A military helicopter with seven people on board disappeared near the border between Guyana and Venezuela on Wednesday. Authorities said there was bad weather in the area and stressed there were no signs he may have been hit by enemy fire, as tensions escalated between the two countries.
Two crew members aboard the helicopter took five senior officers on an inspection of troops guarding a border area that Venezuela claims, according to Army Chief Brigadier General. General Omar Khan.
In recent weeks, Venezuelan troops with heavy equipment and machinery have been amassing at the border, sparking speculation of an impending invasion. Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali told the Associated Press on Wednesday that he was taking all necessary steps to defend his country.
Khan told reporters late Wednesday that the Guyana Armed Forces lost contact with the brand new Bell 412 EPI aircraft after it took off from the Olive Creek settlement in western Guyana following a refueling stop.
Asked whether the plane was shot out of the sky while flying through a mountainous and heavily forested area, Khan said there was no sign of it.
“We have no information indicating that there was a flight of Venezuelan aircraft in this area,” he said. “I don’t want to go into speculation. Our priority is to save the lives of our officers and ranks.”
He said the U.S. government would help with the search when it resumes on Thursday.
The disappearance of the plane about 30 miles (48 kilometers) east of the Venezuelan border comes amid rising tensions between Guyana and Venezuela over the Essequibo region, which is rich in minerals and close to huge oil reserves. Venezuela claims the region as its own and insists it has been part of the country since Spanish rule.
Guyana has maintained that the boundary set by international arbitrators in 1899 is the correct one.
On Sunday, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro held a referendum in which Venezuelans approved his claim to sovereignty over Essequibo. Then on Tuesday, Maduro said he would immediately issue operating licenses for exploration and exploitation in Essequibo and ordered the creation of local subsidiaries of Venezuelan state-owned companies.
Asked whether Guyana’s president had asked for military support in the dispute with Venezuela, Guyana’s government said his government was reaching out to allies and regional partners with whom Guyana has partial defense agreements to protect Essequibo. The region makes up two thirds of the country.
“We take this threat very seriously and have initiated a number of precautionary measures to ensure peace and stability in this region,” Ali said in the brief telephone interview.
“If Venezuela continues to behave in such a reckless and adventurous manner, the region must respond,” he said. “And that’s what we’re building. We are building a regional response.”
Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world, but years of mismanagement and economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. on Maduro’s government have hurt PDVSA and subsidiaries.
Maduro announced the creation of a comprehensive defensive operational zone for the disputed area. It would be comparable to special military commandos operating in certain regions of Venezuela.
“Venezuela’s announcements completely violate international law,” Ali said. “And any country that so blatantly defies important international bodies should be a concern not only to Guyana but to the entire world.”
Guyana expects to raise the issue at the UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday.
The president said in a statement late Tuesday that his administration had contacted the United States, neighboring Brazil, the United Kingdom, France, the U.N. secretary general and the U.S. Southern Command, which oversees military operations in Central and South America and in the Caribbean monitored.
The Venezuelan government condemned Ali’s statement, accused Guyana of acting irresponsibly and reportedly gave the US Southern Command the green light to enter the Essequibo region.
Venezuela called on Guyana to resume dialogue and put aside its “erratic, threatening and risky behavior.”
The diplomatic dispute over the Essequibo region has eased over the years, but intensified in 2015 after ExxonMobil announced it had found large amounts of oil off its coast.