evidence: Maduro also ordered the national oil company, PDVSA, to begin exploring the region for oil and appointed a deputy of the United Socialist party of Venezuela, Maj Gen Alexis Rodríguez Cabello, as the head of a special military unit overseeing the new state, Guayana Esequiba. [...] "What is concerning to us is that Maduro has given specific instructions, all of which speak to the occupation of our Essequibo," Guyana’s foreign minister, Hugh Todd, said. "We interpret those actions as a direct threat to our sovereignty and territorial integrity so we obviously intend to send a strong signal to Venezuela that Guyana will protect its territorial integrity. [...] "Our Guayana Esequiba has been de facto occupied by the British empire and its heirs and they have destroyed the area," Maduro said before the referendum, using the Venezuelan name for the region.