Politics

Venezuelans will be asked on December 3, 2023, to vote on whether they support their country’s historical position that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) cannot be used to resolve the territorial controversy with Guyana and instead the two countries should use the 1966 Geneva Agreement. Venezuelan media also report that the referendum will seek to determine whether that Spanish-speaking ...

As Venezuela prepare to vote in early December on a question concerning Guyana’s 160,000-square-kilometre (62,000-square-mile) county of Essequibo, at least two International Relations experts are recommending intensified domestic, regional and international engagement. Former House Speaker, Raphael Trotman said the time has come for Guyana to establish a multi-party Border/National Security Committee similar to one that had been co-chaired by Attorney-at-Law ...

Wary of the security risks of the Venezuelan government using the exodus of refugees to infiltrate this country with military personnel and spies as part of more aggressive efforts to seize Guyana’s county of Essequibo, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said Guyana’s security personnel were screening people arriving here. “The security forces are taking that concern seriously – the one raised- ...

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday refuted claims by the parliamentary opposition of A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) that large numbers of Venezuelans were being registered to vote in future general and regional elections. He provided figures to bolster his position that the registration trend and population density were similar to those in previous years. According to ...

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday announced a CDN$3.4 million initiative to provide equipment and assistance to improve the security situation in Haiti, at the Canada-Caribbean Community (CARICOM) summit being held in Ottawa. He said the aid is to “fight weapons-related violence.”  He added that Canada would launch a multi-year training programme to assist Haiti’s National Police Force to ...

Opposition Shadow Local Government Minister, Ganesh Mahipaul and Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha on Wednesday were at loggerheads 0ver the claims by that APNU+AFC parliamentarian that the termination of a contract to build an irrigation pump at Black Bush Polder would result in a loss of more than GY$38 million. But Mr Mustapha countered saying that his ministry’s National Drainage ...

As Venezuela deployed 150 soldiers near their border with Guyana, Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd asked the Venezuelan Ambassador to Guyana to explain the movement of troops near the border between the two countries that are embroiled in a territorial controversy. The Foreign Affairs Ministry said though the Venezuelan Ambassador, Carlos Amador Pérez Silva claimed that the mobilisation of troops ...

by Peter Richards BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Oct 17, CMC – Venezuela’s government and opposition Tuesday signed agreements here paving the way for new electoral conditions in the South American country and raising the possibility of the removal of sanctions by the United States against Caracas. The signings here came following the latest round of talks mediated by Norway and after multiple ...

Worried about a “soft invasion” of Guyana and eventual annexation of the Essequibo Region by Venezuela, the opposition People’s National Congress Reform-led A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) on Tuesday called on government to screen Venezuelan “refugees”. “Should they become a majority in any sizeable area of our territory, Guyana could face the threat ...

ExxonMobil President Alistair Routledge on Tuesday acknowledged telling a parliamentary opposition delegation that an agreement had been reached with government for the reduction in disputed audited costs to US$3 million but said that was not a formal accord. “We did not have any formal agreement from the ministry and,indeed as the ministry, the minister and the Vice President made clearer, ...