CARACAS, April 7, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Venezuela's army said Sunday it was in a "state of alert" after the government warned of a suspected plot to blame Caracas for an attack on oil giant ExxonMobil in neighbouring Guyana.

The two countries have been at odds over the Essequibo territory that covers two-thirds of Guyana's land area but is claimed by Venezuela.

Their long-standing dispute flared after ExxonMobil discovered vast oil reserves there in 2015.

Venezuela's armed forces said Sunday they had an "iron will" and would "respond with energetic action" to "any threat to the integrity and peace" of the country.

Vice President Delcy Rodriguez had said Saturday that "a false flag attack" was planned "to attack ExxonMobil's platform" off the Essequibo coast.

Such an attack was designed to "spark confusion and trigger an escalation of aggression," Rodriguez added.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned of "consequences" for Venezuela should it attack its neighbour, during a visit to Guyana's capital Georgetown in March.

Guyana has recently complained of a Venezuelan warship violating its territorial waters.

Rodriguez said Saturday that Rubio was behind the alleged attack plan alongside Erik Prince, founder of private security company Blackwater and an ally of US President Donald Trump.
 
Rodriguez also blamed Venezuelan opposition leaders.

Caracas held a referendum on Essequibo in 2023 and last year passed a law naming it Venezuela's 24th federal state.

The country argues that the 1966 Geneva Agreement -- signed before Guyana's independence -- is a basis for a settlement outside the purview of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that would place its border on the river Essequibo, as it was in 1777.

Guyana says its frontier dating back to the British colonial period was settled in 1899 by a Paris court of arbitration, calling on the ICJ to ratify the decision.