POLITICAL PIGGIES

Last night, our friend Steve Jones sent us this story:

Guyana, Venezuela at odds over gold boats
CARACAS, Venezuela, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- The destruction of two gold-mining barges in the South American nation of Guyana has intensified a border dispute with neighboring Venezuela.

Guyana officials allege 36 Venezuelan soldiers were behind the destruction of the two gold-mining dredges in a disputed border region Thursday. The Guyana officials allege the Venezuelan soldiers used plastic explosives to blow up the equipment, the BBC reported Saturday.

Venezuelan Ambassador Dario Morandy said Friday his country's military had not violated Guyana's borders, adding the area where the dredges had been operating was owned by his country. "Venezuela was protecting its natural resources and we need to remove all illegal miners from the area," Morandy told Stabroek News. Guyana officials have opposed that stance, claiming the incident took place in the Cuyuni River, a region their country controls.
A formal protest of the incident has been filed by the Guyana Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a group of military and police officials are expected to conduct an investigation to determine any wrongdoing.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International. All Rights Reserved.

Steve wrote:

"I noticed reading the latest news about Guyana on Google News Jon that things are kicking off with Venezuela and themselves over gold mining with an alleged border incursion by Venezuelan troops to blow up some dredges.I hope the CFZ are far enough away to avoid any unpleasantness kicking off.it also looks like their Chief justice and government are having problems.how much longer are the CFZ staying in the country?"

We have looked into the situation, and it appears that our team is safe. These alleged incursions are in a different part of the country, and also seem to be a semi-regular occurrence. There has been a boundary dispute with Venezuela for decades, but despite periodic upheavals like this latest one, the threat of all out war seems as distant as the possibility that the situation will reach an amicable conclusion.

But thanks Steve for letting us know...