Venezuela maintains ICJ does not recognise court in border controversy; says Spain was responsible for Essequibo

Last Updated on Wednesday, 6 May 2026, 4:35 by Denis Chabrol

Venezuela on Wednesday reinforced to  the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that it does  not recognise that highest United Nations (UN) judicial body in settling the controversy over the “fraudulent award” of the land boundary with Guyana.

Agent for Venezuela, Samuel Moncada appeared before the ICJ’s oral hearings on the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award that settled the land boundary between the two country wearing a lapel pin of the purported map of Venezuela that includes Guyana’s Essequibo Region. Guyana has already expressed concern within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) about the wearing of such jewellery in light of the ICJ case. 

While Guyana on Monday asked the ICJ to issue orders for Venezuela to destroy all maps, repeal all laws and constitutional amendments that shows that the Essequibo Region is  part of that Spanish-speaking nation based on the 2023 referendum, Mr Moncada said that vote by Venezuelans “unequivocally reaffirmed”  expressed their rejection of submitting this dispute to the Court’s jurisdiction.

“That position has not changed. Venezuela has never consented to submitting this dispute to the jurisdiction of any court or arbitral tribunal,” he said.

He cautioned that any decision by the court that affects the operation of the Geneva agreement, would hinder progress towards a mutually acceptable solution for the parties to that agreement. “The only option is to allow the agreement to fulfill its purpose and objective without impediments,” he said.

He maintained that the 1966 Geneva Agreement, which Guyana on Monday “deliberately ignored”, was aimed at overcoming the “disastrous legacy of colonialism” by finding a bilateral solution that is “mutually acceptable to both parties” instead of court settlement in which one party wins and the other loses.

Insisting that the area under dispute was historically part of Venezuela, he said The Netherlands  went to the territory while it was still part of the Spanish Empire gaining independence in 1648, through the Treaty of Munster, the very same treaty in which Spain recognized the Netherlands claim to the territory east of the Essequibo River.  Guyana has already provided evidence to the court that the Spanish was never in the area, supported by maps and Dutch place names in Essequibo.

Venezuela, he said, always strive for peace, but always without expecting favors from large powers or miraculous results from “rigged international arbitrations”. “This is what led to our tradition of not recognizing the jurisdiction of arbitral tribunals or courts of any kind when it comes to matters relating to our territorial integrity, this is why Venezuela does not accept the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, which was erroneously imposed in the 2020 judgment, it respectfully rejects its jurisdiction to hear and decide on this dispute.

Guyana’s Agent to the ICJ, Carl Greenidge on Monday presented maps showing the western-most presence of Spanish outposts outside of the Essequibo Region located then about 650 kilometres from Venezuela, and a list of 35 places in the Essequibo Region that until today still bear Dutch names. He said the post Colombian history of Guyana begins with the arrival of the Dutch in 1598, who were the first Europeans to establish themselves in what is now Guyana. He said by 1616, they had founded the colony of Essequibo, erected Fort Kykoveral along the Mazaruni River west of the Essequibo as their seat of government, and begun to settle and administer the territories stretching westward toward the Orinoco. Five years later, in 1621 the Dutch West India Company took charge of running the colony, and in 1744 the seat of Dutch administration was moved to Fort Zealandia, he also said