Venezuela’s socialist government on Sunday accused Canada of being a “destabilizing factor” by meddling in a territorial dispute between Venezuela and Guyana over the Essequibo region.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Ivan Gil condemned Canada’s comments. Mark Berman, High Commissioner to Guyana, issuedIn his remarks, Foreign Minister Berman expressed the Canadian government’s support for Guyana in its territorial dispute and called for respect for international law. Foreign Minister Berman made the remarks during an official event marking Canada Day.
“The Government of Canada is concerned about the tensions between Guyana and Venezuela and reiterates that we stand with the people of Guyana. We support the government and urge respect for international law,” Berman was quoted as saying. “In this complex and ever-changing global situation, good relations are of utmost importance and I cannot emphasize enough how important we value our relationship with Guyana.”
Responding to Berman’s comments, Gill accused Canada of conspiring with “right-wing vassals” from Guyana and Venezuela to hand over the disputed territories to U.S. companies.
Canada has no say in the Guyana-Venezuela dispute over the Guyana Essequiba, a dispute that has been fuelled by Canadian government misconduct and has contributed to the uncertainty of ExxonMobil’s services in the Caribbean.
El Gobierno de… https://t.co/jeZcjMVn4p
— Ivan Gil (@yvangil) June 23, 2024
“Canada has no say in the Guyana-Essequiba conflict between Guyana and Venezuela. Canada’s failed government should focus on its own affairs and stop serving ExxonMobil and causing instability in the Caribbean,” Gill’s message read, adding:
The Guyanese government should stop dragging self-conscious countries with thwarted colonial ambitions into this dispute. These countries are sinking along with their stateless right-wing stooges who want to hand over the Essequibo and their homeland to American multinationals. The only possible and legal way to resolve this dispute is through the 1966 Geneva Conventions.
Neighboring Venezuela and Guyana have been locked in a territorial dispute for more than 120 years over the Essequibo region, a 61,600-square-mile area currently under Guyana’s administration that makes up roughly two-thirds of Guyana’s total land area.
Venezuela has historically claimed the Essequibo region as part of its borders since the country gained independence from Spain in 1811, long before Hugo Chavez and his current ruling socialist government came to power in 1999.
In 1899, an arbitration process in Paris established the current border between the two countries and awarded administration of the disputed territory to Guyana. For over a century, Venezuela has argued at the United Nations that the Paris arbitration award was fraudulent, resulting in a new agreement being signed in Geneva in 1966, which gave administration of Essequibo to Guyana until a permanent solution to the dispute could be found.
The conflict has remained relatively quiet since the 1966 agreement and has never reached a definitive conclusion. Following a request made by Guyana in 2018, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Domination The minister announced he would have jurisdiction over the dispute in 2023, but noted that a final ruling is “many years away.”
Socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro has repeatedly maintained that he and his government do not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice in the matter, but he reignited the dormant conflict with hostilities after Guyana began signing offshore oil contracts with American oil company ExxonMobil. Maduro has repeatedly Threatened Deployed to Guyana and ExxonMobil In December 2018, it was used by the Venezuelan Navy to intimidate Guyana.
Hostilities from the Maduro regime further intensified after the socialists held a fake rally in 2023. Referendum A national opinion poll was conducted in December 2023 asking the public “what should be done” regarding the territorial issue.
Despite overwhelming evidence showing extremely low voter turnout and, in some cases, barren electoral centers, the Maduro regime claimed that “10 million” votes were cast in support of its regime. schedule Annex disputed territory.
The Maduro government’s plan is to: Creation Venezuela’s new nation Guayana Esequiba, The annexation plan includes: Give It will provide Venezuelan identity documents to Essequibo’s mostly indigenous residents and eventually issue oil, gas and mining licenses to exploit the region’s natural resources.
Maduro Accused Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali accused the United States in April of allowing the country to build a “secret military base” in the Essequibo region. Maduro has yet to publicly provide evidence to back up the accusation, but he claims the base is part of a campaign of “aggression” against Venezuela.
In February, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Published Satellite imagery taken in January suggests the Maduro regime is expanding its military bases and personnel along the border with Guyana.
Representatives of Venezuela and Guyana hold online meeting meeting On June 11, the International Court of Justice held an international judicial conference on the ongoing territorial dispute, hosted by the Court’s President, Judge Nawaf Salam. The Maduro regime maintained that its attendance at the conference did not mean it recognized the ICJ’s jurisdiction in the conflict, and further argued that the 1966 Geneva Conventions were a “normative framework” for “bringing an end” to the conflict “through a practical solution acceptable and satisfactory to all parties.”
Christian K. Caruso is a Venezuelan author documenting life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter. here.
