WAYS and Means Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) issued the following statement after the Maduro regime of Venezuela announced its intent to annex the Essequibo region of Guyana:

“The United States stands with Guyana and condemns the efforts of Venezuela to annex the Essequibo region. These actions by the Maduro regime are a blatant violation of international law and a breach of Guyana’s territorial sovereignty. Hostile military action not only poses a grave threat to the people of Guyana and energy security in our hemisphere, but also has the potential to disrupt our efforts to build more resilient supply chains that do not depend on adversaries. It is crucial that Venezuela respect international boundaries and law to maintain peace in the region.”