Venezuela denounced the alleged presence of a US coast guard ship

The Venezuelan government on Monday denounced the alleged presence of a U.S. coast guard ship near its jurisdictional waters and rejected the holding of military exercises between the United States and Guyana in a disputed territory.

The complaint came at a time when Admiral Craig Faller, head of the U.S. Army Southern Command, is expected in Guyana, where he will discuss the bilateral security partnership with a view to strengthening cooperation to combat the operations of drug traffickers, illegal fishing, transnational criminal organizations, among others.

As part of that cooperation, the U.S. Coast Guard and Guyana recently began joint exercises, the Guyana Chronicle of Georgetown reported Monday.

Venezuelan Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez said the exercises were equivalent to "threatening Venezuela".