The interlocutor in the peace accord on the Guyana-Venezuela border dispute, St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister, Dr Ralph Gonsalves on Wednesday forecast that there would be tensions even after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivers its ruling later this year.
“The Argyle Declaration works. Even after the ICJ delivers its judgement, whichever way they go, you’re still going to have tension,” he said on St Vincent and the Grenadines’ state-owned National Broadcasting Corporation’s “Your Morning Cup”. Dr Gonsalves’ comments come against the background that Venezuela does not recognise the ICJ’s jurisdiction in the border dispute. While Venezuela has been submitting arguments in the case to that court, that country continues to peddle its misinterpretation of the 1966 Geneva Agreement to insist that the two countries need to settle the controversy bilaterally.
The Hague-based ICJ could later this year possibly deliver its judgement on the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Tribunal Award that Guyana maintains settled the land boundary with Venezuela.
The Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines also said the parties in the peace accord, named the Argyle Declaration, need to meet again to prevent a repeat of the March 1 incursion and other recent incidents. “We still have to meet to have this matter thrashed out so that we don’t have a repetition of this. It’s not the first time since Argyle that matters have had to be muted by us,” he said.
Dr Gonsalves said after President Irfaan Ali informed Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders about the presence of the Venezuelan military vessel in Guyana’s waters, the players in the CARICOM-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) mechanism worked late into the night.
Dr Gonsalves did not detail exactly what was done by himself, as interlocutor under the December 14, 2023, Argyle Agreement; CARICOM Chairman, Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley; former CARICOM Chairman, Roosevelt Skerritt or the representative of Brazil in ending last Saturday’s incursion that lasted from 7 AM to 11 AM.
Dr Gonsalves noted that Dr Ali had informed the United States (US) about the incursion into waters under Guyana’s jurisdiction, based on the fact that the floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) platforms are being operated by American supermajor, ExxonMobil. The US later the day of the incident warned the Nicolas Maduro administration of “consequences” if there was a repeat. “We had to ensure that thee would be peace and a calm and there would be no provocation,” he said.
Venezuela has not arrested any of the gang members, who shot and injured six Guyanese soldiers on the Cuyuni River on February 17, 2025. Instead, the Venezuelan government has accused Guyana Defence Force soldiers of entering the Essequibo Region and shooting and injuring Venezuelans.
CARICOM has already denounced the shooting and also called on Venezuela not to hold any elections for a Governor of Essequibo and a Legislative Council in Guyanese territory on April 27, 2025
Dr Gonsalves said while a number of persons have deemed the Argyle Declaration a “joke”, that accord between President Ali and Venezuela’s President, Nicolás Maduro in Argyle, St Vincent, has “assisted in keeping the peace”. He noted that a a conflict between the two countries could result in deaths and refugees including persons of undesirable character. He also feared that parties connected to Venezuela and Guyana could cause such a conflict to become larger and affect Latin America and the Caribbean.
Guyana enjoys very close relations with the US, United Kingdom and France while Venezuela’s allies include Russia and Iran.
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