Episode 1818 • • 1:52:31 - 2:00:42
1818: Bible Belt Buckle
Operation Southern Spear, Venezuela Oil Dispute, Essequibo Region
The U.S. military has ramped up pressure on Venezuela through "Operation Southern Spear," involving Marine training exercises in Trinidad and Tobago. While the operation is publicly framed as a drug interdiction effort, the underlying conflict involves a 200-year-old territorial dispute over the oil-rich Essequibo region of Guyana. Venezuela claims sovereignty over the area, where ExxonMobil recently discovered massive offshore oil reserves, leading to U.S. plans for a potential military base to protect energy interests.