Caracas Chronicles

#NowWhatVenezuela keeps you informed about what’s happening deep inside la patria—from headline-making events to underreported stories that provide the clearest picture of our reality. This digest is published weekly.

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“This my turf,” Venezuela tells Guyana in Esequibo waters

Shortly after OFAC announced the revocation of Chevron’s license, Nicolás Maduro sent a patrol boat into the disputed waters of the Esequibo, specifically the Stabroek Block—the offshore area where ExxonMobil currently extracts around 600,000 barrels of oil per day. In an audio recording leaked by News Source Guyana, a Venezuelan Navy captain can be heard demanding information from the captain of Exxon’s Liza Destiny. After Liza Destiny’s captain provided his coordinates, the Venezuelan officer responded:

“According to your present geographical position, you’re operating in the exclusive economic zone of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, which is in litigation with Guyana. Your actions will be considered under regulations of the Venezuelan state.”

A year after talks between Guyanese President Irfaan Ali and Nicolás Maduro in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines helped de-escalate tensions, both Guyana and the United States have condemned this latest incident as an unacceptable incursion into Guyanese territory. In response, chavismo branded Ali as the “Zelensky of the Caribbean,” claiming he has no right to extract oil in an undelimited territory.

Venezuela’s ambassador in Georgetown was summoned by Guyana’s Foreign Minister for the second time this year, as tensions and provocations continue to rise. In February, a clash between Guyanese troops and Venezuelan irregular actors on the Cuyuní River, along the border between the Esequibo and Venezuela’s Bolívar state, left six Guyanese soldiers injured. When Guyana accused Maduro of failing to dismantle armed groups in the region, Miraflores dismissed the incident as fake news. Meanwhile, Maduro has called for the election of a governor for the Esequibo—“the twenty-fourth state”—as part of the upcoming May mega-elections, a move that Ali is challenging before the International Court of Justice, which is still reviewing the validity of the 1899 arbitral ruling between Venezuela and Guyana.

Why it matters: What is Maduro trying to achieve by making contact with an Exxon vessel like this? He may be signaling that more “visits” and hostile exchanges could follow in the coming months—particularly if the United States refuses to negotiate Chevron’s return (and potentially that of other oil companies) to Venezuela. He is also tapping into the worsening relations between the White House and Volodymyr Zelensky while blaming María Corina Machado, the “extremist opposition’s lobby” in the U.S., and Marco Rubio for the recent decision to revoke General License 41—without directly pointing fingers at Trump.

Mobilizing the Venezuelan state around the Esequibo issue also allows Maduro to strengthen cohesion within the armed forces by channeling resources and promising rewards for those involved in the escalating border tensions.

The state of the San Cristóbal-Cúcuta economy after violence in Catatumbo

“At least in Táchira, we’ve never experienced situations caused by clashes between irregular groups. Now, I live in constant uncertainty, wondering if a bomb will go off as I pass by or if gunfire will suddenly erupt,” Manuel told La Hora de Venezuela. He splits his time between San Cristóbal and Cúcuta due to the lack of opportunities in Venezuela, but after the ELN’s offensive in Colombia’s Catatumbo region, the bombing of a toll station near the Venezuelan border, and the internal displacement of some 50,000 people, he now fears a shootout or another attack.

Why it matters: Cúcuta feels like a different city in March 2025, the report notes—military deployments, armored vehicles in the streets, security checkpoints, and a surge of informal vendors as 20,000 displaced people have arrived in recent weeks. The tension and fear are discouraging Táchira residents from traveling across the border, stifling commercial activity on both sides. Carnival celebrations in San Antonio del Táchira were canceled after the event’s production company and invited artists refused to attend, Governor Freddy Bernal stated. At San Cristóbal’s bus terminal, transport workers report an unusually slow season for what was once a peak travel period.

“That’s over,” a transit officer told La Prensa del Táchira. “This used to be a good time for business, but there was barely any work this year.”

A jailed reporter and another missing

Román Camacho, one of Venezuela’s best-known crime reporters, has been imprisoned since this week. He voluntarily turned himself in to the CICPC (Venezuela’s investigative police) after reporting on the murder of a communal council spokeswoman in José Félix Ribas, Petare, where he mentioned the name of an alleged perpetrator. According to a document obtained by El Estímulo, Camacho is accused of “obstructing justice” and violating the Anti-Hate Law. His case is being handled by a special court for hate crimes, which postponed his preliminary hearing on Wednesday. Less than a year ago, Miraflores gave him an award for his reporting.

Two weeks earlier, La Patilla reporter Rory Branker was kidnapped by state agents, and there has been no information on his whereabouts, the reasons for his detention, or his conditions. Diosdado Cabello confirmed that authorities have him, alleging extortion and the “spread of false news.” Branker’s home was raided on the day of his arrest, with agents seizing two laptops and three phones. At the moment, 13 members of the press are detained in Venezuela.

Recommended reads:

• La Hora de Venezuela: A special report on three Venezuelan women who traveled from Güiria (Sucre state) to Trinidad, never to return. Their families mourn their loss amid forced migration and human trafficking.
• Versión Final: In Zulia, a laborer posted on TikTok that members of oil unions in Sur del Lago were planning to kill him. On March 5, he was found dead in his home.
• El Pitazo: The Curaçao Coast Guard has confirmed the death of a woman in the shipwreck of ten Venezuelans traveling from Píritu, Falcón state.
• Efecto Cocuyo: The Venezuelan economy will lose $3.1 billion in revenue this year following Chevron’s exit, according to Ecoanalítica.