A man walks in front of a mural of a map of Venezuela that includes the Essequibo territory within it, in Caracas, Wednesday, 29 November, 2023. Photo: Matias Delacroix/AP.
The Venezuelan minister for foreign affairs, Yván Gil, and his Guyanese counterpart, Hugh Todd, have held a discussion via telephone in order to discuss the situation in the Essequibo territory, in particular following the overwhelming result of the consultative referendum held in Venezuela last Sunday, December 3. The vice president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, has also issued a formal and forceful response after the president of Guyana, Irfaan Ali, made threats regarding the territory using the United States Southern Command.
Through a statement published on the website of the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Venezuela expressed to Guyana “the need to put an end to actions to aggravate the controversy in the Guayana Esequiba territory.” Both diplomats noted that they have “agreed to keep communication channels open,” following their phone call this Wednesday, December 6.
Below, you can read the unofficial translation of the statement:
Foreign Ministers of Venezuela and Guyana hold a telephone conversation to discuss territorial controversy after consultative referendum
The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela informs that today, at the request of the Guyanese side, Foreign Minister Hugh Todd held a telephone conversation with Foreign Minister Yván Gil to discuss the issue of the territorial controversy following the consultative referendum, called by the National Assembly, which took place on December 3.
The Venezuelan side took the opportunity to update the government of Guyana on the overwhelming participation that the popular consultation had, generating an unappealable mandate for the Venezuelan institutions on the route to follow for the solution of this territorial controversy, which is the Geneva Agreement signed between the parts in 1966.
The Venezuelan side highlighted the need to stop actions to aggravate the controversy in the territory of Guayana Esequiba and agreed to keep communication channels open.
Caracas, December 6, 2023
President Maduro Announces Creation of Guayana Esequiba State (+Annexation vs. Incorporation)
Condemnation of threats using the Southern Command
However, earlier that Wednesday, the president of Guyana, Irfaan Ali, released a statement noting that the Guyana Defense Force is on high alert and in contact with its military counterparts, including the United States Southern Command, who he said are also “on alert.”
Ali made these claims in response to the announcements made by the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, who reported this Tuesday nine measures to recover Guayana Esequiba territory. These measures include numerous actions and agreements, such as converting it into a state—as mandated by the referendum—and boycotting business with companies that have received illegal concessions from Guyana on undelimited waters.
The Guyanese head of state made further warnings that he plans to take this matter to the United Nations Security Council on Thursday, so that they “can adopt appropriate measures.” He said that, “by defying the Court, Venezuela has rejected international law, the rule of law in general, fundamental justice and morality, and the preservation of international peace and security,” adding the claim that Venezuela has “literally declared themselves an outlaw nation,” the Guyanese president stated in a new attempt to disregard the 1966 Geneva Agreement.
Venezuelan Vice President Rodríguez pointed out on Wednesday that Guyanese President Ali must adjust his illicit behavior and stop threatening Venezuela with his warlike accomplices, as well as take action to suspend the concessions Guyana is making in the sea territories while border delimitation is pending.
“In a nervous wreck, Irfaan Ali, de facto occupier of our Essequibo, desperately asks the international community to let him rob Venezuela in peace,” Rodríguez wrote through social media. “Mr. Irfaan, you better first drink a cup of chamomile tea. Next, you know that you have no choice but to negotiate directly under the Geneva Agreement. You must adjust your illicit behavior to act within the law.”
The Venezuelan government also issued an official statement in response to Ali’s threats, condemning the fact that the Guyanese president “has irresponsibly given the green light to the presence of the United States Southern Command in the territory of Guayana Esequiba.”
Below, you can read the unofficial translation of the statement:
Venezuela condemns that Guyana authorizes presence of the US Southern Command in Guayana Esequiba
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela condemns the recent statements of President Irfaan Ali, who has irresponsibly given the green light to the presence of the United States Southern Command in the territory of Guayana Esequiba, over which Guyana maintains a de facto occupation and a territorial controversy with Venezuela, which is called to be resolved through the 1966 Geneva Agreement, the only valid legal instrument between the parties.
Venezuela denounces before the International Community, and especially before the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the reckless attitude of Guyana, which, acting under the mandate of the US transnational ExxonMobil, is opening the possibility of installing military bases for an imperial power, threatening the Peace Zone that has been outlined in this region.
The Cooperative Republic of Guyana recklessly attacks International Law, carrying out actions that aggravate the territorial controversy and that add to its illegal conduct of granting oil exploitation rights to Exxon Mobil on a sea pending delimitation with Venezuela.
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, faithful to its doctrine of Bolivarian Peace Diplomacy, urges the government of Guyana to desist from its erratic, threatening and risky behavior and return to the path of direct dialogue, through the Geneva Agreement.
Caracas, December 6, 2023
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/AU
