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A British warship arrived in Guyana on Friday afternoon amid rising tensions from a border dispute<\/a><\/span> between the former British colony and Venezuela.<\/p>\n The HMS Trent\u2019s visit led Venezuela to begin military exercises a day earlier<\/a><\/span> in the eastern Caribbean near its border with Guyana as the Venezuelan government presses its claim<\/a><\/span> to a huge swath of its smaller neighbor.<\/p>\n Brazil\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed concern Friday about the situation and urged the two South American countries to return to dialogue. It said other nations should avoid \u201cmilitary activities\u201d that support either side.<\/p>\n Brazil\u2019s statement called on Guyana and Venezuela to stay true to the Argyle Declaration, an agreement signed earlier this month in which their leaders said they would solve the border dispute through nonviolent means.<\/p>\n The dispute is over Essequibo, a sparsely populated region that is the size of Florida and rich in oil and minerals. Venezuela has long claimed it was cheated out of the territory when Europeans and the U.S. set the border.<\/p>\n The U.K. Defense Ministry has said that the ship is visiting Guyana as part of a series of engagements in the region and that the vessel will conduct training exercises with Guyana\u2019s military.<\/p>\n On its account on X, formerly Twitter, the ship posted photos of sailors welcoming Britain\u2019s ambassador to Guyana and the chief of staff of Guyana\u2019s Defense Force, Brig. Gen. Omar Khan. They were hosted at a formal lunch and provided with a tour of the ship\u2019s capabilities.<\/p>\n In an interview with The Associated Press, Khan said such operations \u201cremain an important part of the regional security spectrum of activities. It has been so in the past and will continue in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n Officials have been tight-lipped on the nature of the exercises.<\/p>\n The warship is generally used to intercept pirates and drug smugglers, and it recently conducted joint exercises with the navies of several West African nations. It is equipped with cannons and a landing pad for helicopters and drones and can carry around 50 marines.<\/p>\n In a statement late Thursday, Guyanese President Irfaan Ali said Venezuela \u201chad nothing to fear\u201d from the ship\u2019s activities in Guyanese waters.<\/p>\n \u201cGuyana has long been engaged in partnerships with regional and international states aimed at enhancing internal security,\u201d Ali said. \u201cThese partnerships pose a threat to no one and are in no way intended to be aggressive.\u201d<\/p>\n But Venezuela on Thursday began military exercises involving 5,000 troops in the eastern Caribbean, citing the visit by the British patrol ship.<\/p>\n In a nationally televised speech, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accused Guyana of betraying the spirit of the Argyle Declaration.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will not let anyone push us around,\u201d Maduro said, surrounded by military commanders. He described Britain\u2019s decision to send a warship as a threat from a \u201cdecaying former empire.\u201d<\/p>\n