THE diplomatic fallout continues to escalate between Guyana and Venezuela, with the Maduro Government yesterday accusing the Granger Administration of a disrespectful response to its attempt to annex Guyana’s maritime space, supported by the imperial power of a U.S. multinational.

A Presidential decree, under the hand of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, on May 27 last, now claims just over two-thirds of Guyana’s territory, including its offshore jurisdiction.

The Guyana Government swiftly responded by dismissing the Maduro decree, saying it “cannot be applicable to any part of Guyana’s territory, and any attempt by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to apply that instrument in an extra-territorial manner will be vigorously resisted by the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.”

The Guyana Government said it will spare no effort in bringing to the attention of the international community this aggressive and illegal act by Venezuela.

The Maduro Government has since responded by calling Guyana’s response dangerous and provocative, and a threat to Venezuela’s diplomacy of peace.
The Venezuelan Government is of the view that it is unacceptable for the newly-elected Coalition Government to adopt such a position “regarding a territory that is subject to controversy.”

In fact, the Venezuelan Government maintains that the territorial issue between the two countries dates back more than a century, “when, through colonial and imperial deals, our country (Venezuela) was deprived of a vast territory, subject since then to claim.”

Their contention is that “based on its groundless legal origin, Venezuela maintains its position to consider the Arbitration Award of 1899 null and void, and calls on the Government of Guyana to stand within the regulatory framework of the Geneva Convention.”

Guyana, however, is holding firmly that the land boundary between Guyana and Venezuela was defined by the Arbitral Award of 1899, and has been internationally recognised ever since.

Guyana has, over time, also pointed to the fact that Venezuela has also recognised its border with Guyana as settled for over 60 years, having also participated in the demarcation of this established boundary which was completed in 1905.

It is on this basis that Guyana has denounced the Maduro decree as a violation of international law, and declared that “it is international law that must reign supreme, and not the ambitions of a larger State which wishes to trample upon the rights of a smaller country in order to obstruct the sovereign right of Guyana to develop its natural resources.”

Venezuela yesterday, however, sought to downplay the implications of the Maduro decree, while still maintaining ownership over Guyana’s sovereign territory.
The Venezuelan Government said it regrets “that an administrative rule aimed at organising, with the assistance of new technologies of information, daily supervision tasks and maritime security within the framework of its unlimited jurisdiction and constitutional exercise (which cannot affect the Co-operative Republic of Guyana in any way) is exploited in order to scandalise and with the purpose of trying to create an artificial crisis, making irrational situations against a sister country like Venezuela using highly offensive language.”

The Guyana Government’s reaction to the Maduro decree was to immediately put on record its concerns that the declaration disregards international law; constitutes a threat to regional peace and security; and breaches the Geneva Agreement of 1966.

“It is therefore imperative that Venezuela adheres to the principles of international law in seeking to delineate its maritime boundaries with neighbouring states, pending actual delimitations,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated.

DIPLOMACY
Venezuela also sought yesterday to advocate diplomacy in resolving the dispute, saying the only appropriate channels would be those in International law, namely the Geneva Convention and continuing with the Good Officer mechanism through the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Lashing out, however, at the Guyana Government, the Venezuelans said, “It is an offence to the libertarian tradition of the people of Simón Bolívar to accuse Venezuela of being a threat to the region, using imperial language, when, in the last Summit of Americas, the fraternal nations of the region issued a declaration unanimously recognising and supporting Venezuela’s Foreign Policy of peace and solidarity.”

In fact, Venezuela, in its continued attack against the Granger-led Administration, went so far as to accuse it of being in collusion with the United States of America against them.
According to the Venezuelan Government, “It is regrettable to confirm that the unprecedented and astonishing aggression that the new Guyana Government has allowed ExxonMobil, a powerful multinational, to venture into the disputed territory between the two countries, which in no way seeks to address Guyana’s right to development.”

The Maduro-run Venezuela Government yesterday pointed to the foreign policy of predecessor Hugo Chavez, which it says was based on co-operation, and led to boosting stability and energy security in the region under the Petrocaribe deal.

Venezuela now believes that the newly-elected Government of the Republic of Guyana is out to set “a dangerous policy of provocation against the peaceful Bolivarian Venezuela, supported by the imperial power of a U.S. multinational, ExxonMobil, which must be rectified in a short time.”

Venezuela said it believes “this hostile policy of provocation will be defeated by the force of reality itself, by Venezuela’s Foreign Policy of peace and friendship, and by the people of Guyana themselves.”
INVITATION TO GREENIDGE
The Venezuelans also reaffirmed yesterday that it has extended an invitation to Guyana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Greenidge to meet as soon as possible, “so that through political dialogue, the two nations can work towards cooperation, and overcome the historical dispute which originated from the fraudulent actions of former colonial powers against Venezuela.”

According to reports in the Venezuelan media yesterday, its Foreign Affairs Minister, Delcy Rodriguez, also called on Guyana to halt the oil exploration being carried out by ExxonMobil.

The American Oil Company reported last month that it had made a significant find of commercial quantities of oil, immediately spurring complaints from Caracas that Guyana is unfairly exploiting a disputed territory.

“Until there is a resolution of the issue of territorial reclamation … there can be no unilateral use of these waters,” the Venezuelan Foreign Minister reportedly said in televised comments yesterday.

She was quoted as saying too: “The new Government of Guyana shows a dangerous political provocation against a peaceful Venezuela, supported by the imperial power of an American transnational, ExxonMobil.”
The American Oil Company has since reiterated that ExxonMobil is under contract with the Government of Guyana, and pronouncements by Venezuela do not change this.

 ‘According to reports in the Venezuelan media yesterday, its Foreign Affairs Minister, Delcy Rodriguez, also called on Guyana to halt the oil exploration being carried out by ExxonMobil’
‘The Venezuelans also reaffirmed yesterday that it has extended an invitation to Guyana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Greenidge to meet as soon as possible, “so that through political dialogue, the two nations can work towards cooperation and overcome the historical dispute which originated from the fraudulent actions of former colonial powers against Venezuela’

By Gary Eleazar