Venezuela is Just an Excuse for Guyana's Irfaan Ali

By Misión Verdad – May 30, 2025

On May 25, Venezuela took a historic step toward consolidating its sovereignty by holding regional elections in the state of Guayana Esequiba, a region that historically has been part of Venezuela’s geographic, cultural, and legal territory. Retired Admiral Neil Villamizar was elected governor with over 97% of the vote, a victory that reflects popular support for the full incorporation of the Essequibo as an integral part of the nation.

This electoral process is a direct result of the consultative referendum of December 3, 2023, when over 10.5 million Venezuelans confirmed their rejection of the illegitimate 1899 arbitration and their determination to regain sovereignty over the Essequibo. The decision to formally incorporate this space into Venezuela’s institutional structure has not only symbolic value but also legal and historical significance.

However, Guyana responds with high-sounding statements, false flag operations, and military movements near the border. These actions demonstrate that its obsession with the Essequibo is not driven by historical rights but by corporate and geopolitical interests seeking to maintain control over strategic resources, especially hydrocarbons discovered in nearby waters.

Prefabricated tension: false flag operations and military threats
In the weeks leading up to Venezuela’s May 25 elections, Guyana deliberately heightened tensions along the border with Venezuela. On May 16, the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) reported alleged attacks from Venezuelan territory, without presenting tangible evidence or credible testimony. Venezuela’s response was blunt: this was yet another false flag operation designed to victimize Irfaan Ali’s government and justify military escalation.

These accusations are part of a repeated narrative that seeks to legitimize the US presence in the region and create conditions for covert intervention. According to reports from the Venezuelan Ministry of Defense, all indications are that these actions are being orchestrated from laboratories within the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), with the aim of constructing a casus belli to legitimize military intervention.

Furthermore, Guyanese Chief of Staff Brigadier Omar Khan made multiple visits to neighboring communities, accompanied by military personnel and making statements laced with bellicose rhetoric. Amid this escalation, Khan even threatened those who exercised their right to vote in the Venezuelan elections with deportation.

Venezuela responded that it would not be distracted by provocations or lies. Venezuelan Vice President and Minister of Hydrocarbons Delcy Rodríguez stated just before election day that “the Venezuelan people are determined to defend the Essequibo and its energy resources, and May 25 is a momentous election because we will elect a governor and legislative body for the Guayana Esequiba state.”

Venezuela as a smokescreen
Although Guyanese President Irfaan Ali has adopted a confrontational and supposedly nationalist approach toward Venezuela, his administration is facing a deep internal crisis that includes corruption scandals, social protests, and poor management of basic services.

The president faces allegations of systemic corruption in various areas of the state, including the looting of public funds to illegal oil contracts benefiting ExxonMobil. The administration of his Popular Progressive Party (PPP) is under national and international scrutiny.

On May 26, Guyana’s Independence Day, Ali unilaterally called for general and regional elections in Guyana. The opposition reacted by claiming that the electoral commission (GECOM) was unprepared and that the election date was declared outside of proper procedures. Since at least 2022, flaws in the Electoral Registry have been pointed out as limiting transparent voting. As of writing this, no actor from the “international community” has spoken out, which is their tendency when it comes to elections in Venezuela.

Ali’s government is accused of nepotism, opacity in the management of oil revenues, and favoritism in awarding contracts. Far from addressing these urgent issues, it has used the dispute with Venezuela as a smokescreen. Through maximalist statements such as “not one square centimeter will be ceded… not now, not ever,” it seeks to divert attention from its political and economic failure while promoting a confrontational agenda that benefits foreign actors more than its own people.

A network of interests: the United States, ExxonMobil, and regional allies
Behind Irfaan Ali’s tougher rhetoric lies a network of global interests led by the United States and multinational corporations like ExxonMobil, which have turned Guyana into a strategic enclave for control of new oil and gas reserves in the Atlantic.

Since large offshore fields were discovered in 2015, ExxonMobil has maintained a dominant role in the Guyanese economy. However, the contracts signed with Ali’s government have been criticized as illegal, irreversibly flawed, and the product of corruption or institutional incompetence.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s explicit support for Ali’s government is no coincidence. His visit to Georgetown in March 2025 marked a turning point in the bilateral relationship with the signing of a security memorandum of understanding, the terms of which remain classified. This agreement, along with military and intelligence cooperation, strengthens Guyana’s position as a regional satellite for Washington to contain Venezuela’s sovereign advance.

Countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and some CARICOM members also support Guyana on the diplomatic front. Furthermore, in early May, the International Court of Justice ordered Venezuela to refrain from holding or preparing elections in the disputed region. This multilateral body is not recognized by either Venezuela or Guyana.

Both countries and institutions that protested Venezuela’s May 25 elections remained silent when Guyana granted oil exploration contracts on international water pending delimitation. Furthermore, their statements ignore the colonial history that underpins Georgetown’s current ownership of the Essequibo.

Such complicity reveals that their international stance is not based on principles of justice but rather on well-defined corporate and geopolitical interests.

Venezuela is committed to dialogue and regional integration
In the face of escalating tensions and interventionist maneuvers, Venezuela maintains a consistent approach based on peace, dialogue, and regional integration. The country has reiterated its willingness to resolve differences within the framework of the 1966 Geneva Agreement, the only instrument recognized by both parties to address the territorial dispute.

During the signing of the Argyle Accords in December 2023, the Venezuelan government reaffirmed its commitment to negotiated solutions to avoid provocations that could destabilize the region. Furthermore, Foreign Minister Yván Gil has stated that Guyana’s accusations are baseless and part of a strategy designed in Washington’s offices.

In addition to rejecting third-party interference, President Nicolás Maduro has repeatedly called for direct dialogue with Irfaan Ali, stressing that both nations share cultural roots and need to collaborate on issues of security, trade, and environmental protection. However, Guyana, conditioned by its economic and military dependence on the United States, has pursued a path of unnecessary confrontation.

Venezuela categorically condemns the exploitation of the Essequibo as a tool for blackmail or political distraction. For Caracas, the future of the region lies in the strengthening of blocs like CARICOM and CELAC, where cooperation, not conflict, must be the foundation of international relations.

Yván Gil: Venezuela Has Never Threatened Guyana or Anyone Else

Crisis and subordination disguised as threat
Irfaan Ali’s administration is attempting to mask its internal failures with a narrative of external threat. While urban protests, corruption scandals, and the critical socioeconomic situation threaten his legitimacy, the president is resorting to rhetorical warfare against Venezuela to score political points and rally his electoral base ahead of the September elections in which he will seek reelection.

However, behind this narrative lies a complex reality: Guyana is increasingly becoming a semi-colonial state where political will is subordinated to the interests of ExxonMobil, which is also influential in the Trump administration. Far from defending the sovereignty of his people, Ali seems to have accepted a subordinate role in a global game that sacrifices sustainable development for the sake of oil plunder.

For its part, Venezuela remains firm in its historic claim to the Essequibo, with a proposal for a negotiated, inclusive solution that respects international law. The government’s message is clear: it will not allow foreign powers to manipulate artificial conflicts to perpetuate historical dispossession and disrupt the possibility of the Caribbean, along with Latin America, becoming a focal point within a new global order.

The election of Neil Villamizar as governor of Guayana Esequiba state does not aim for confrontation but rather for a constitutionally legal and identity-based affirmation. It is an expression of the national will that seeks to heal the wounds of the past and build a shared future throughout the region.

Meanwhile, Guyana struggles between misrule and imperial dependence. Neither Ali nor his foreign backers can reverse this situation.

(Misión Verdad)

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

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