Venezuela, whose leftist leader Nicolas Maduro is despised by the Cuban-American Rubio, has increasingly pushed its claim to the disputed Essequibo region controlled by Guyana, and was accused earlier this month of making an incursion.
"I have full confidence saying it now as secretary of state -- there will be consequences for adventurism. There will be consequences for aggressive action," Rubio told a joint news conference on a visit to Guyana.
Asked what the United States would do if Venezuela attacked ExxonMobil oil projects in Guyana, Rubio said: "It would be a very bad day -- a very bad week for them."
Stopping short of spelling out a military response, Rubio said: "We have a big navy, and it can get almost anywhere."
Rubio signed an agreement to boost security cooperation with Guyana including through greater information sharing. It comes years after Guyana and the United States agreed to joint maritime patrols.
Guyanese President Irfaan Ali welcomed the stance of Rubio, who called Venezuela's claims "illegitimate."
"I'm very pleased at the reassurance of the US, ensuring the safeguard of our territorial integrity and sovereignty," Ali said.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil, in a statement on Telegram, rejected Rubio's comments as Washington's "old script of threats and bluster."
"We do not need nor seek conflicts, but neither will we allow foreign interests to try to rewrite the reality about our Essequibo," Gil said, adding: "Get your noses out of this dispute!"
Mauricio Claver-Carone, the US special envoy on Latin America, earlier said that the United States envisioned a future "binding" security relationship with Guyana similar to the Gulf region, where US troops protect oil-rich Arab monarchies, particularly against larger neighbor Iran.
Rubio later visited neighboring Suriname, whose oil production has also been rising.
- US seeks advantage against China -
Guyana, an English-speaking former British and Dutch colony where the majority of the 800,000 people still live in poverty, has for years had a long-shot movement that has sought to join the United States.
Such formal accession was not on the agenda, but Trump has made no secret of his passion for expansionism in the Western Hemisphere, even at the expense of traditional alliances.
The Republican billionaire has vowed to take control of Greenland from Denmark and to "take back" the Panama Canal, pointing to rising Chinese influence.
While Exxon has dominated the oil industry, China -- viewed by the Trump administration as the top global adversary -- has made rapid inroads in Guyana with infrastructure projects including an expansion of the international airport where Rubio landed.
Trump has proposed imposing major fees on vessels linked to China, but the idea has hit opposition from US farmers as well as Caribbean nations which say they have little option and will take a hit.
Rubio said it was "dangerous to have one country in the world building all the ships."
But in a shift in tone from Trump's usual uncompromising position, Rubio acknowledged concerns among Caribbean nations and said he would advise US trade policymakers of the risks of hurting US partners.
"Rest assured we will take that message back," Rubio said.
- Rapid oil growth -
The parliament in Caracas last year approved a bill to declare the Essequibo region, which makes up two-thirds of Guyanese territory, as Venezuela's 24th state, a move rejected internationally.
Guyana insists the border was finalized by an 1899 arbitration panel, but Venezuela claims the Essequibo River to the region's east as a natural border recognized as far back as 1777.
Texas-based ExxonMobil has taken the lead in offshore oil exploration, which has rapidly scaled up since the 2015 discovery of huge crude reserves.
ExxonMobil anticipates gross production from Guyana of 1.3 million barrels a day by the end of the decade, dwarfing current output from Venezuela.
The Trump administration, under pressure from anti-communist Latino lawmakers, has canceled US oil major Chevron's exemption from US sanctions to operate in Venezuela.
sct/des
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