Venezuela president tells UN General Assembly negotiated settlement of Guyana border dispute best option

Last Updated on Wednesday, 23 September 2026, 22:56 by Writer

Just months away from the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) expected ruling on the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Tribunal Award that settled the land boundary between Guyana and Venezuela, that country’s acting president Delcy Rodríguez on Wednesday told the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that she wants a negotiated settlement. 

Wearing a brooch that includes the Essequibo region as part of Venezuela’s map, she pointed out that she was making her remarks at the UN, the “very headquarters of international law”.

Ms Rodríguez said her country desired to reaffirm its rights over the Essequibo region which is two-thirds of Guyana’s 83,000 square miles.

“Here, I appeal to the Cooperative Republic of Guyana to resolve the issue and to return to negotiations, as stipulated by the Geneva Agreement. Agreements which last the longest are those that emerge from bilateral negotiations. They last longer and function better than those imposed by external bodies,” she said. 

This is the first time that the Venezuelan leader has made her position known at the UNGA since the substantive president, Nicolás Maduro, was ousted by American military forces on January 3, 2026.

While Venezuela said the 1966 Geneva Agreement stipulates that there must be a negotiated settlement and that the ICJ had no jurisdiction in the matter, that Spanish-speaking neighbour has participated in all the stages of the case that Guyana took before that judicial body after becoming fed up with 50 years of mediation through the UN Good Offices process.

The UN Secretary General had referred the border controversy to the ICJ in keeping with the Geneva Agreement, and the ICJ subsequently ruled that it had jurisdiction to hear Guyana’s case on the validity of the 1899 award.

Like in her remarks before the ICJ to wrap up Venezuela’s submissions, Ms Rodríguez did not criticise the United States or ExxonMobil as she had often done alongside Maduro.

On the other hand, the acting president said a recent agreement signed between the United States and Venezuela was “one of the most all-encompassing and significant ever signed” and “it will contribute to ensuring the energy balance of the hemisphere and the well-being of our economy.”

She said Venezuela wanted to rebuild and maintain relations with other South American nations and the U.S.

She said those ties must be rooted in respect and equality. “I wish before the 81st General Assembly of the United Nations to thank President Donald Trump and his government for their readiness to resume the course of diplomatic relations and cooperation with Venezuela,” she also said.

Guyana and the U.S. also enjoy very close relations, and Georgetown is part of President Donald Trump’s Shield of the Americas anti-narco-terrorism initiative.

The U.S. said it was willing to assist Venezuela and Guyana to settle the maritime boundary after the ICJ ruling expected in early 2027.

Venezuela is not a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and so the maritime boundary delimitation would have to be the subject of negotiations.

ExxonMobil is hoping to resume exploration in the Stabroek Block nearer Venezuela after the World Court’s decision.