A Guyanese soldier has been wounded in a gunfight with armed men in Venezuela along their shared borderByThe Associated PressMay 30, 2026, 10:34 AMGEORGETOWN, Guyana -- A Guyanese soldier was wounded following a gunfight with armed men in Venezuela that occurred along their shared border, authorities said.The Guyana Defense Force said in a statement that a patrol vessel on the Cuyuni River came under fire late Friday.It is the latest of several bloody clashes in recent years as tensions remain high over Venezuela’s claim to two-thirds of Guyana’s territory. One previous attack wounded eight Guyanese soldiers.The two countries appeared earlier this month before the International Court of Justice in The Hague for arguments in a dispute over a 62,000-square-mile (160,000-square-kilometer) territory that is rich in gold, diamonds, timber and other natural resources. It’s also located near massive offshore oil deposits currently producing an average 900,000 barrels a day.Popular ReadsVenezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez has told judges in The Hague that political negotiations and not a judicial ruling will resolve the century-old dispute.Venezuela considers Essequibo its territory because the region was within its boundaries during the colonial period. It argues that a 1966 Geneva agreement among Venezuela, Britain and then-British Guiana, now Guyana, nullified a border drawn in 1899 by international arbitrators.Popular Reads