OPINION: Common ground with Norton on Venezuela

Last Updated on Friday, 9 January 2026, 21:21 by Writer

By GHK Lall

It has been some time since I find common ground on which to agree with Mr. Aubrey Norton, leader of the PNC. He made a statement, took a stand in effect, recently, and with that there was something of substance on developments in neighboring Venezuela. More than one element, it so happens. What Mr. Norton laid before the public is what Pres. Ali should have been all over the airwaves standing for, insisting upon, and drawing a line.

Said the PNC leader: “…let us not forget that we don’t have the military capacity to fight Venezuela…therefore, as a nation we are dependent on rules govern (sic) international relations and so our interest lies in ensuring that we are in a world in which there is the rule of law and the international law governs the relations we are having.”

It seems that there is some forgetting and, worse, there is no interest in remembering at the apex of this country. When Guyana is a party to the stretching, rearranging, playing games with, and if not actually breaking the rules, then the groundwork has been laid for this small nation probably to pay a heavy price for its clear and dangerous recklessness. Its shortsighted one-sidedness. Its foresight that is clouded by men who listen to the sound of their voices, and fall in love with themselves. Guyana is currently basking in the glow of US muscle flexing. Perhaps, it is more accurate to assert that the PPP of Ali and Nandlall, and their version of the norms and dictates of the rule of law and international law, are basking in the reflection of the expression of US might next door. World powers are fickle creatures. Eyes are always roving, old interests pale, new interests replace, and energies get spread across a spectrum of priorities. This is what I hear Mr. Norton saying, and what former president Ramotar had a word or two to offer. Both men must be recognized for speaking out, when Guyana’s reigning political monarchs have lost their tongues, and are struggling to get some wisdom out of their heads.

Further said Mr. Norton: “We have always taken the position that we are opposed to aggression because we ourselves are vulnerable to aggression.” Guyana just has to be, it has no choice but to walk with the utmost care, and project what is the essence of mature leadership, and not this crass surrender of independent thinking and expression, when this country’s own safety and long-term destiny are at stake. I think that over-dependency on the US, and total immersion in the so-called special relationship, has lulled Pres. Ali into a state of euphoria, and lured him into two places. The first is a no-man’s land of his own making; the second is a place from where there could be little retreating. Frankly, Guyana has gone overboard, and it could find itself alone, in time to come.

Whether Mr. Norton harbors such sentiments or not, is unknown to me. But this much can be said, while taking the liberty of using his position on international law. With the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy before the International Court of Justice, this country has placed all its assets on the role and rule of international law. When one country breaks it willy-nilly and for the worst possible objective(s), and Guyana stands firmly in that country’s corner, or clearly unprotestingly, then leadership here amounts to rolling the dice. It is sheltering tauntingly and recklessly under the US umbrella of aggression.

Last Mr. Norton said: “If you’re a small state you want the law to prevail because you lack the capacity to use force, and once you support the use of force against another state, you kind of axiomatically create the convictions (sic) for it to happen to you”. Maduro or no Maduro, Venezuela will never relinquish its claim on the greater part of Guyana’s rich territory. World powers and oil companies are mobile, can pack their bags and move along to the next oil pool. Neighbors are immovable, and so should be borders. Even more so, when greed and hostility rear their ugly heads, dominate the air. It is a delicate walk for the smaller, weaker, neighbor. It is healthy to form partnerships. It is wiser to put in the hard work and commit to a course of action that balances national interests and needs, as opposed to those who insist that they are the dearest of friends. World powers have their uses, but it all depends on who’s doing the using.