Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reaffirmed the United States' commitment to Guyana's security as tensions with Venezuela have continued to escalate

The Guyanese government formally protested to its counterpart. The bridge connects Venezuela's mainland to a military base

Caracas forces are also seemingly continuing to build a bridge close to the vast area controlled by Guyana but that the country claims as its own

The country's vice president said authorities are "highly attentive" to the recent developments

An army general posted a video showing the building of a makeshift bridge used to take the vehicles closer to the border

Guyana won't approve oil exploration in waters near Venezuela at least until a UN court ruling on the matter, while Maduro publicly praised his counterpart

White House spokesperson John Kirby said that the administration doesn't see "indication that there's about to be hostilities"

Satellite images show heightened activity despite an agreement between Maduro and Guyanese President Ali, who denounced the use of force

The Biden administration pledged to help Guyana buy new aircraft helicopters, military drones and radar technology

The foreign ministers of Guyana and Venezuela are due to meet on Thursday in Brazil to discuss the simmering crisis on their border over a disputed oil-rich region.

Deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Western Hemisphere Daniel P. Erikson noted that the United States was all set to help the South American country create a better-equipped military in the upcoming months.

"HMS Trent will visit regional ally and Commonwealth partner Guyana later this month as part of a series of engagements in the region during her Atlantic patrol task deployment," a spokesperson of UK's Ministry of Defense said.

The minister noted the United Kingdom will continue to work with partners in the region alongside international bodies in order to ensure that the "territorial integrity of Guyana is upheld."

Mango Landing sits smack in the middle of the jungle, a stone's throw from Venezuela, just across the river.

Tension has soared over Essequibo, which has historically been controlled by Guyana, since Maduro's government held a controversial referendum last weekend in which 95 percent of voters supported declaring Venezuela its rightful owner, according to official results.

The United States, through National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, urged the sides to find a diplomatic solution to the territorial dispute, saying "we don't want to see this come to blows."

The U.S. Army carried out a joint aerial exercise with Guyana. Washington reiterated its support for the country

The long-running dispute over Essequibo, which comprises some two-thirds of Guyanese territory, has intensified since ExxonMobil discovered oil there in 2015.

Tensions rose between Venezuela and Guyana Tuesday as Caracas proposed a bill to declare a Venezuelan province in a disputed oil-rich region and ordered the state oil company to issue licenses for extracting crude there.

Guyana said Monday it would remain "vigilant" after Venezuelans voted overwhelmingly in favor of claiming an oil-rich border region that makes up more than two-thirds of its territory.

Even though the voting is not binding, tensions are running high between the countries given the rhetoric by Maduro's government

A decades-old dispute over the oil-rich Essequibo territory reaches a new, potentially escalatory chapter on Sunday as Venezuela holds a referendum regarding the Guyana-controlled region.

US Department of Defense officials will visit Guyana next week, the South American country's vice president said Thursday, as he pledged that "all options" are on the table in its row with neighboring Venezuela.

Venezuela has for decades argued that the 160,000-square-kilometer (62,000-square-mile) region administered by Guyana should fall within its borders -- a contention that has brought the neighbors before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.

The two countries have been locked in a diplomatic duel since Guyana began auctioning off oil blocks in the Essequibo region, which Caracas claims as part of its territory.