Venezuela’s army is far larger than Guyana’s. But Caracas might achieve better results with deniable “gray zone” attacks against its eastern neighbor than with an outright invasion.

At the heart of the standoff is the Essequibo region, a colonial-era territorial dispute that has gained renewed urgency since ExxonMobil’s discovery of massive oil reserves. Venezuela contends ...

Guyana said Thursday that it will seek help from the United Nations’ top court to deter plans by neighboring Venezuela to elect a governor to rule its western Essequibo region, an area rich in ...