Caribbean Journey
What Happens If Guyana's Oil Boom Attracts a U.S. Military Base in the Region?
Guyana's oil boom has triggered one of the most consequential military buildups in Caribbean history and most people have no idea it is happening.
In March 2025, a Venezuelan warship entered Guyanese maritime territory and made direct radio contact with ExxonMobil's offshore oil platforms in the Stabroek Block, telling crew members they were operating in Venezuelan waters. Within months, the United States had deployed F-35 stealth fighters to Puerto Rico, sent the USS Gerald R. Ford supercarrier into the Caribbean Sea, and positioned approximately 15,000 military personnel in the region the largest American military concentration in the Caribbean since the Cold War.
At the center of it all is Guyana: a country of 800,000 people that went from importing fuel in 2015 to producing nearly a million barrels of oil a day by late 2025. Sitting on 11 billion barrels of recoverable oil one of the largest offshore discoveries in recorded history Guyana is now supplying 29% of its crude exports directly to the United States, has become the world's third largest oil producer per capita, and is being actively courted by American military planners as a permanent strategic partner in the region.
This video covers the full documented story: the Stabroek Block discovery, the Venezuela-Guyana Essequibo territorial dispute and its ICJ case, the decade-long buildup of U.S.-Guyana military cooperation, Operation Southern Spear, what history says about permanent U.S. military bases in the Caribbean, the China factor (CNOOC holds 25% of Stabroek), and what a formal U.S. military base in Guyana would mean for the country's sovereignty, its people, and the entire Caribbean region.
Nothing about this story is simple. And almost none of it has received the coverage it deserves.
---------- KEY FACTS IN THIS VIDEO ----------
- ExxonMobil's Liza-1 discovery in May 2015 launched the Stabroek Block now estimated at 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent
- Guyana's GDP grew 62.3% in 2022, the highest real GDP growth in the world that year (IMF)
- By late 2025, Guyana was producing approximately 900,000 barrels per day
- In 2024, 29% of Guyana's crude exports went to the United States
- China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) holds 25% of the Stabroek Block
- The Essequibo region two-thirds of Guyana's territory is before the International Court of Justice
- Venezuela held a referendum on annexing the Essequibo in December 2023 despite an ICJ order to stop
- The U.S. deployed 15,000 military personnel to the Caribbean under Operation Southern Spear (2025)
- The USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group entered the Caribbean in November 2025
- Approximately 58% of Guyana's population still lives in poverty despite the oil boom (Inter-American Development Bank)
---------- LEGAL DISCLAIMER ----------
This video is produced for educational, informational, and documentary purposes only. All facts, statistics, quotes, and claims presented are sourced from publicly available reporting, government documents, academic research, and international institutional records, as listed above. Caribbean Journey does not take political sides on the disputes, conflicts, or policy decisions discussed in this video. The analysis reflects the documented public record as understood at the time of production. Geopolitical situations are subject to rapid change; some details may have evolved after the research compilation date of April 2026. This video should not be relied upon as legal, financial, military, or policy advice. All quoted individuals are cited in the context of their publicly recorded statements. Caribbean Journey is an independent documentary channel and is not affiliated with any government, political party, military body, or corporate entity referenced in this content.
---------- IF THIS VIDEO INFORMED YOU ----------
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Published Apr 28, 2026