Guyana deplores Venezuela’s declaration of Essequibo as its State

Last Updated on Friday, 22 March 2024, 11:13 by Denis Chabrol

Guyana on Friday deplored Venezuela’s decision to declare Essequibo as its State, despite an agreement by Presidents Nicolas Maduro and Irfaan Ali to desist from taking any action that would escalate tensions between the neifhbouring South American nations.

Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn told the opening of a conference of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Regional Security System that Guyana deplores the avoidance of the Argyle Declaration between the two leaders last December in St Vincent that they would do nothing to make the situation worse.

“We deplore and we are unhappy that the Government of Venezuela and its National Assembly just yesterday agreed that they would make Essequibo firmly, no longer a Zona de Reclamacion but Venezuelan territory. This is highly regrettable and it is a violation of the principles of the good faith discussions which were undertaken at Argyle and more latterly in Brazil,” he said.

Benn reiterated that the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy would be settled at the International Court of Justice.

Mr Benn noted the risks and challenges that could lead to instability especially due to the presence of non-State actors such remnants of Colombian rebel groups such as FARC and ELN in eastern Venezuela near the border with Guyana. Those groups, he said, were supporting others such as the MILANDROS that were involved in drug trafficking, people trafficking and smuggling of minerals and other things.

Reuters News Agency reported on Thursday that government members of the Venezuelan National Assembly approved the declaration of Essequibo as a State in line with last December’s controversial referendum.

The law approving the new state, called Guayana Esequiba, will come into force as soon as it is published in the official gazette.

The state’s borders would be the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Brazil to the south, Guyana to the east and the Venezuelan states of Delta Amacuro and Bolivar to the west, according to the law.

Reuters reported that the city of Tumeremo, in Bolivar, will serve as a capital “until a practical and mutually acceptable solution to the territorial controversy is reached with the Cooperative Republic of Guyana,” the law said.

Venezuela has in recent years revived its claim to the territory and to offshore areas after major oil and gas discoveries and amid internal political upheaval ahead of elections expected this year.