Venezuela objects to Essequibo at CDB meeting; Guyana reiterates major projects through county

Last Updated on Wednesday, 11 June 2025, 21:12 by Writer

Venezuela’s Vice Foreign Minister for the Caribbean, Raúl LiCausi, on Tuesday objected to references being made to infrastructure projects that might pass through the Essequibo Region because his country is the subject of a border dispute with neighbouring Guyana.

The objection was raised at a panel discussion on the topic “Improving Physical Connectivity between Brazil and the Caribbean” as part of the Caribbean Development Bank’s 55th Annual Meeting being held in Brasilia, Brazil. “I must respectfully express a concern and a more formal objection is that the Guiana island corridor or route shown in the presentation crosses the territory of the Essequibo which is subject to a longstanding and unresolved territorial dispute between Venezuela and Guyana,” he said.

The Venezuelan government official said nothing should be done in the Essequibo Region until the two countries settle the border dispute. “Any initiative involving that area should avoid assuming a settled territorial status and should respect the existence of an ongoing controversy,” he said. Mr LiCausi said Venezuela strongly supports regional integration and connectivity, adding that his country would even like to be “engaged” in most of those initiatives.

Venezuela is a non-borrowing CDB member.

But Head, Project Cycle Management Division of Guyana’s Ministry of Finance, Tarachand Balgobin spoke immediately after Mr LiCausi. “This is a very exciting conversation and I’m sorry that it has been dampened a little bit. I’m from Guyana and I’m not intentioned to raise diplomatic issues at this forum,” he said.

He, however, referred to two major projects – the Linden-Lethem Road and a railway system that would be running parallel to that road – that would be passing through the Essequibo county.

He also noted that the previous Brazilian administration of President Luis Inácio ‘Lula’ Da Silva had constructed the Bonfim-Lethem bridge across the Takatu River and has since made “very clearly and identifiable” announcements about the Linden-Lethem corridor. “The Guyana Shield has always been part of the IIRSA (Initiative for the Integration of the Regional Infrastructure of South America) development agenda and we are pursuing that relentlessly and it is happening,” he said.

The CDB, with grant financing from the United Kingdom, is constructing the Linden-Mabura road, leaving another 300 to 400 kilometres to complete the link to Lethem. He said feasibility studies and evaluation of traffic from northern Brazil were completed. Initially, the corridor would feed cargo through Port Georgetown but, according to Mr Balgobin, the plan is to eventually move supplies to a deep water harbour and container port in the Berbice River.

The Venezuelan Vice Foreign Minister for the Caribbean also said that the border dispute “must be addressed within the framework of the Geneva Agreement to reach a practical and mutually satisfactory solution.”

He did not elaborate but historically, Venezuela has interpreted that Agreement to mean that the border disagreement must be resolved through bilateral negotiations, while Guyana says the United Nations Secretary General acted properly in keeping with his interpretation of the agreement by referring the issue to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The ICJ is next year expected to rule on the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Tribunal Award that settled the land boundary between the two countries.

None of the panelists responded to the Venezuelan official’s comments about the Essequibo Region which is under Guyanese control and is included in all internationally accepted Guyana maps.

The panel discussion focused on the integration of Brazil and the Caribbean through roads, bridges, railways, waterways, ports and airports, energy generation and distribution, and digital connectivity.