Washington Escalates Pressure Against Venezuela on the Essequibo Front

By Misión Verdad – May 18, 2024

After the signing of the Argyle Declaration between Venezuela and Guyana on December 14, 2023, many events have occurred. Instead of reducing tensions as the agreement signed in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines had intended, it seems that tensions have been rising steadily and silently.

In January, fulfilling part of the commitments agreed upon in December, the foreign ministers of Venezuela and Guyana met in Brasilia with the intention of starting a viable binational dialogue and activating the joint commission to address the territorial dispute. One of the objectives set by the Venezuelan delegation, according to Foreign Minister Yván Gil, was “to avoid the intervention of foreign powers in the controversy and the need to examine Guyana’s position and actions regarding the undelimited maritime area to ensure respect for the conditions agreed between our countries for decades.”

These comments at that time were not naive, because at the end of 2023 a British warship arrived in Guyana, increasing tensions just after the signing of the Argyle Declaration. The visit of the warship was the beginning of a series of systematic actions carried out by Guyana by which it sought, in the words of the Guyanese president, to “improve the security” of his country.

Guyanese escalation in 2024
By briefly recounting the recent visits to Guyana by senior US or British officials, we realize that there is a premeditated and treacherous intention to strain the bilateral relationship, which is already complicated due to the territorial dispute and Guyana’s oil extraction in the undelimited waters:

On January 8, 2024, US Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for the Western Hemisphere Daniel Erikson held meetings with representatives of the Guyanese government, the Guyanese Defense Forces (GDF), and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), in Georgetown, the capital of Guyana.
On February 4, 2024, US Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer and Senior Director for the Western Hemisphere Juan González met with Guyanese authorities to discuss improving Guyana’s defense capabilities.
During the CARICOM summit, held during February 28-29, 2024, a delegation led by the US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield visited Georgetown. Among the other members of the delegation were Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian A. Nichols; Deputy Administrator of USAID for Latin America and the Caribbean Marcela Escobari; the principal coordinator for Atlantic Cooperation, Ambassador Jessye Lapenn; and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Diplomacy Laura Lochman.
On March 22, 2024, the director of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William J. Burns, paid a brief visit to Guyana and held talks with President Irfaan Ali and senior security officials.
Former US President Bill Clinton participated in the United Caribbean Forum, held in Guyana where investment and energy issues were addressed. This took place during March 25-26, 2024.
In an interview with the BBC in early April 2024, Guyanese President Irfaan Ali commented, confirming the intentions of US officials visits: “We have aligned ourselves with countries and a region that are on the side of Guyana, CARICOM as a region has issued a statement in support of the sovereignty of Guyana, the United States has issued a statement in support of the sovereignty of Guyana, the United Kingdom has issued a statement in support of the sovereignty of Guyana, France has issued a statement in support of the sovereignty of Guyana, Canada supports the sovereignty of Guyana. We are working as an international coalition that will not allow this region to be destabilized by any action by Venezuela to invade our territory or our borders.”
During May 8-9, the director of Strategy, Policy and Plans of the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), Major General Juliet Nethercot, met with Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defense Forces Brigadier Omar Khan, to discuss ongoing security cooperation and security assistance initiatives to advance technology platforms.
On May 9, 2024, a US air force jet, F/A-18F Super Hornet, flew over the Guyanese capital, Georgetown, demonstrating the close military and allied cooperation between Guyana and the United States.

This recount is intended to serve as an argumentative basis for the complaints that the Venezuelan State has been making about the militarization of the disputed region, which includes the installation of US military and CIA spy bases. Even more serious is the possibility of instigating an armed conflict between Guyana and Venezuela, based on a false flag situation involving any of the countries’ armed forces.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has revealed that Venezuelan intelligence agencies have detected 12 secret CIA bases and 14 SOUTHCOM bases in the disputed Essequibo territory. The purpose of this bases is to plan belligerent actions against Venezuela, especially attacks against the people of Tumeremo, a town that was designated as the provisional capital of the Guayana Esequiba state, and against the people of southern and eastern Venezuela.

El presidente @NicolasMaduro denunció que Guyana es epicentro de la mayor amenaza contra Venezuela y Suramérica al permitir 12 bases de la CIA y 14 del Comando Sur en su territorio.
Ante esto Venezuela seguirá defendiendo sus derechos históricos sobre la Guayana Esequiba.#8May pic.twitter.com/3ftyRnHqWF
— Comisión Defensa del Esequibo (@EsequiboOficial) May 8, 2024

The president’s complaint is nothing novel. The United States has an extensive network of military bases in Latin America—at least 80 of its 800 foreign bases are concentrated there, with Central America and the Caribbean having the densest concentration—by which the US tries to maintain control in what it considers as its zone of influence.

In the current context of global geopolitical conflict, where the dispute for global hegemony is becoming more evident, this tactic (installation of military bases) intends to exert influence and dominate key areas. In this regard, the potential undeclared US military presence in the Essequibo is consistent with a historical trend of US interference and territorial domination.

Latest announcements and actions
US fighter jets were seen in the skies over Guyana on May 9, according to information provided by the United States embassy in Georgetown. The overflight was carried out with the approval of and in collaboration with the government of Guyana.

Venezuela announced the deployment of air patrols after the US embassy in Guyana made public the US air force overflight in Georgetown, the capital of Guyana. The Venezuelan air force patrol which included Sukhoi 30MK2, F-16 and K-8 aircraft to defend Venezuelan airspace.

Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino reported that the Comprehensive Aerospace Defense System “remains activated in the event of any attempt to violate the Venezuelan geographical space,” including the disputed territory of Essequibo, which, he reiterated, is Venezuelan.

Una prueba más de las provocaciones que desde el Comando Sur de los EEUU se hacen a #Venezuela, como lo ha denunciado el Presidente @NicolasMaduro en reiteradas ocasiones, se ha activado una maquinaria de guerra contra nuestro país.
Las apetencias de la Exxon Mobil no tienen… https://t.co/2gJkuhUoCv
— Yvan Gil (@yvangil) May 9, 2024

Immediately after and perhaps in response to the actions of the Bolivarian National Armed Force (FANB), the Guyanese parliament approved the Civil Aviation Amendment Bill 2024, presented by the minister of Public Works, Juan A. Edghill, with full support of the opposition, in a rare show of unity among parties that are usually vehemently opposed to each other.

The changes to the law included granting power to the authorities to intercept any aircraft that fly illegally over Guyana’s territory, and the designation of “no-fly zones” to restrict or prohibit aircraft from other countries from flying over certain areas.

On the other hand, the Venezuelan government is constantly complaining, in various regional and multilateral spaces and in the media, about the intention of the United States and Guyana to create a military conflict on the border with Venezuela with the aim of opening a new front against Venezuela and destabilize the Latin American and Caribbean region.

Venezuela’s Vice President: We Must Reject US Militarization in Latin America, CIA Bases in Guyana

Venezuela exercises its sovereignty
Following the clear mandate that emerged from the consultative referendum on Essequibo in December 2023, and with the promulgation of the Organic Law in the Defense of Guayana Esequiba, Venezuela has undertaken an uninterrupted process of assertion of sovereignty over the disputed territory, which has continued firmly during the year 2024.

This exercise of sovereignty has been manifested not only through the air and ocean patrols, which have ensured the State presence in the historically Venezuelan areas usurped by British imperialism, but also through the recent inauguration of a provisional bridge over the Cuyuní River.

This structure, built by FANB engineers, strengthens the Venezuelan presence on the eastern bank of the Cuyuní River that connects the Turumban highway with the island of Anacoco, thus reaffirming Venezuela’s sovereign intentions.

Puente de Anacoco listo !
No hay misiones imposibles sino seres incapaces !#IntegrarEsVencer pic.twitter.com/3cYEjgtS08
— GJ. Domingo Hernández Lárez (@dhernandezlarez) May 11, 2024

These measures are concrete expressions of defense of Venezuelan territory and its maritime projection, sending a decisive message to both State entities and non-State actors, including foreign oil corporations, about Venezuela’s active and legitimate claim to sovereignty.

Instead of interpreting them as gestures of belligerence, Venezuelan actions should be understood as a legitimate and necessary response to the illegal actions of Guyana, which has attempted to deny Venezuela’s historical rights over the Essequibo and has ignored the 1966 Geneva Agreement, the only recognized legal mechanism for the resolution of the dispute.

(Misión Verdad)

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/JRE/SC