BRASILIA, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Brazil's military is reinforcing its northern border due to rising tensions between its neighbors Venezuela and Guyana over Venezuela's claim to the Esequibo region, the Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday.
Venezuela reactivated its claim over the Esequibo in recent years after the discovery of offshore oil and gas.
In Sunday's referendum, Venezuelan voters rejected the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice over their country's territorial dispute with Guyana and supported the creation of a new Venezuelan state in the potentially oil-rich Esequibo region.
Brazil did not ask Venezuela to cancel the vote, but President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government is expected to criticize the stepped up Venezuelan campaign for the Esequibo.
An international tribunal in Paris in 1899 settled the issue, but Venezuela says the ruling was rigged.
Persons:
Gisela Padovan, Nicolas Maduro's, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's, Ricardo Brito, Rodrigo Viga Gaier, Anthony Boadle, Bill Berkrot
Organizations:
Ministry of Defense, Mechanized Cavalry Regiment, Reuters, International Court of Justice, Thomson
Locations:
BRASILIA, Venezuela, Guyana, Boa Vista, Roraima, Ireland, America, Caribbean, Venezuelan, Brazil, British, Paris, Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro