US Meddling In The Guyana-Venezuela Dispute Over The Essequibo May Lead To War
Far away from western headlines, which are currently dominated with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there is a growing conflict between Venezuela and Guyana over the oil and mineral-rich Essequibo region in the north-eastern corner of South America.
The latest chapter was the Venezuelan referendum on Sunday December 3rd in which President Maduro sought a national mandate to pursue Venezuela’s sovereignty claim over the territory.
As of writing, the referendum is over and the Venezuelan National Electoral Council (CNE) President Elvis Amoroso reported that all five referendum questions, related to different aspects of Venezuela’s argument over the controversial border with Guyana, had between 95-98 percent of “Yes” votes.
There are questions about turnout, whether 10.5 million people had voted or whether there had been 10.5 million “yes votes.” Details from the Electoral Council are pending.
As would be expected, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said the people had spoken “loud and clear” in defense of the country. in a celebration in Caracas’ Plaza Bolívar, Maduro told supporters:
“We have taken the first steps of a new historical era in the fight to recover what was bequeathed to us by our independence heroes: the Guayana Esequiba.”
On Sunday, voters were asked whether they rejected the 1899 arbitration ruling that awarded the territory to the UK and instead supported the 1966 Geneva Agreement that saw all parties commit to an amicable solution, if they opposed the International Court of Justice (ICJ) jurisdiction on the matter as well as Guyanese efforts to extract resources in the Essequibo’s waters. A final question proposed the creation of a new state, Guayana Esequiba, in the disputed territory, granting Venezuelan citizenship to its inhabitants and implementing social programs for the local population.
Claim and counterclaims
The response of the Guyanese government to Venezuela’s claims of sovereignty has been one of defiance and non-negotiability ever since it became apparent in 2015 that there were massive reserves of oil and gas in the territorial waters of the Essequibo region. Georgetown opened up a bidding process for oil exploration in the region’s territorial waters. Since then, oil giant Exxon Mobil and other companies, most of whom have since sold-up to Exxon, have been involved in major drilling projects in the area.
According to Venezuelanalysis.com an exchange of diplomatic communiques saw the Nicolás Maduro government accuse its Guyanese counterpart of acting as “an employee of ExxonMobil,” in reference to the oil giant’s major involvement in drilling projects in the area.
Guyana’s claim over the region is based on an arbitration award from 1899 that granted the territory to the United Kingdom, the country’s former colonial power. Venezuela has said the decision is illegitimate due to the absence of Venezuelan negotiators and defends the 1966 UN-brokered Geneva Agreement which called for a negotiated solution between the two countries following Guyana’s independence that same year.
In 2018, Georgetown requested the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to confirm the validity of the border drawn by the 1899 Paris tribunal, which Caracas protested stating that the Hague-based court has no jurisdiction over the matter. However, ICC struck down Venezuela’s objections and the Maduro government will have to present its “Counter-Memorial” to sustain its position.
On Monday October 25th the Venezuelans announced their referendum as a counter to the Guyana’s legal gambit at the Hague. Maduro called on the Venezuelan people to vote massively.
“This is a referendum where we all fit, regardless of whether we are Chavistas or anti-Chavistas. This is about our love for our country and the outrage at the pretenses by empires, multinational corporations and Guyana to take away what is ours.”
The Guyanese seemed to have won the day on Friday December 1st when the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in their favor. In support of the Guyanese motion that the planned Venezuelan referendum represented a seriously “urgent,” “real” and “imminent” threat to the rights which Guyana currently has to the Essequibo, the court made the following order:
“Pending a final decision in the case, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela shall refrain from taking any action which would modify the situation that currently prevails in the territory in dispute, whereby the Co-operative Republic of Guyana administers and exercises control over that area.”
By Sunday morning December 3rd Guyanese President Irfaan Ali was more solicitous and spoke directly to Venezuelans according to Stabroek News.
Addressing the fears that have arisen here, he said that “…based on all the feedback internationally…based on the support we are getting internationally I want to assure Guyanese that there is nothing to fear over the next number of hours, days, months ahead. Of course, our vigilance will be enhanced but we are working around the clock to ensure that our borders remain intact and the people and our country remain safe.
American militarization of the conflict
While Maduro and Irfaan Ali have both said they intend to have a peaceful resolution to their dispute, the Americans are doing everything to militarize the conflict.
On July 15 the US Southern Command announced the official start of Caribbean-focused exercise, Tradewinds 2023, or TW23, Camp Ayanganna in Guyana. According to U.S. Army South Commanding General, Maj. Gen. William Thigpen.
"The participation of more than 1,500 service members this year exemplifies the shared commitment to one another as we strengthen our partnerships and remain united to share responsibilities as defenders of our common values. TW23 is key to leveraging the capabilities of like-minded countries to reach common goals and strengthen regional stability.”
According to Stabroek News members of the media were hosted at airborne operations training at the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Air Station London (Air Corps), Timehri as part of the US-led Exercise Tradewinds. Among the like-minded countries were mighty island nations such as St Kitts-Nevis, Dominica and the Bahamas who do not have a standing army. Clearly they were not invited to participate because of their military potential.
On November 8, 2023 The Venezuelan government has vehemently criticized an alleged joint announcement between Guyana and the United States to increase US military presence in the Essequibo Strip amidst the ongoing territorial dispute.
Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Yván Gil issued a communique stating that Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali refuses to engage in “direct dialogue” with Venezuela while associating with “the most aggressive military power in the history of mankind.”
The Venezuelan statement accused the Guyanese government of carrying out military operations in the Essequibo Strip alongside the US Southern Command to “protect US energy corporations” that are exploiting resources in the disputed area’s territorial waters. The move was classified by Caracas as a “threat to the stability of Latin America and the Caribbean.”
For his part, Guyana’s Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd denied a military expansion in the 160,000 square kilometer Essequibo Strip and accused the Venezuelan side of spreading misinformation and fueling division in the region. Specifically he denied Venezuela’s claim that Guyana has granted permission to the United States to establish a military base in Essequibo.
Further evidence of increased military ties between the US and Guyana came to light on November 28th. According to a press release by the US Embassy in Georgetown the leadership from the United States Army 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB) and the Guyana Defense Force (GDF) met November 27-28 as part of the United States and Guyana’s strong military to military partnership.
“The U.S. and Guyana defense forces discussed upcoming engagements to include strategic planning sessions and processes to enhance both countries’ military readiness and capabilities to respond to security threats.”
Meanwhile on November 28th at a public event for the Guyanese elite, the newly accredited US ambassador, Nicole Theriot,
was asked about the Guyana/Venezuela border controversy. According to Stabroek News she reiterated the position of the Department of State
“…that we support and respect the 1899 arbitral award that established the current boundaries of Guyana and we believe that those should be respected until they are determined to be different by an international body, particularly the ICJ (international Court of Justice)”, she said.
“So we support the current territorial sovereignty of Guyana and we call on Venezuela to do the same”, she added.
Asked what happens if Venezuela doesn’t, she said “we will cross that bridge when we come to it”.
On the diplomatic front the US are talking peace but in reality they are planning militarily.
Concluding thoughts
Evidently the Guyanese government is pursuing the legal track to defeat Venezuela’s claim to the Essequibo but it has made the US their military guarantee to ensure the eventual outcome is in their favor. The problem for Guyana they are a mere pawn in America’s geostrategic dominance over the Americas and specifically their goal of defeating the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and regain control over the largest-known petroleum reserves in the world.
The irony is that the ruling party, the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) has roots in the traditional socialist-left movements aligned with Moscow and national liberation movements in the 50s-80s. Founder, Cheddi Jagan, was first elected Chief Minister in 1953 and later Premier of British Guiana from 1961 to 1964. He later served as President of Guyana from 1992 to his death in 1997. Notably, on the eve of independence in 1964, he lost the elections under very controversial circumstances. He, personally, and the party as a whole, for years accused the Americans and the British of orchestrating an electoral coup as part of their Cold War strategy to prevent left-wing parties from coming to power. 40-years later the PPP is firmly aligned with the US military and America’s biggest and longest standing member of Big Oil in the form of Exxon-Mobil.
As a member of the English-speaking Commonwealth Caribbean, the Guyanese should bd fully aware of dangers of trying to “ride a tiger by the tail” from the tale we were all told in our youth.