GOVERNMENT has condemned Venezuela’s latest sign of aggression after an unauthorised Venezuelan fighter jets flew over the community of Eteringbang and the airstrip at an altitude of 1,500 feet on Tuesday.
Eteringbang, Region Seven, sits on the western edge of the Essequibo region.
Essequibo is the subject of territorial controversy between Guyana and Venezuela, predating the former country’s independence from Britain in 1966 and now pending before the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement on Wednesday, noted that on Tuesday, at approximately 13:20 hours, two Venezuelan army Sukhoi SU 30 fighter jets flew over the community of Eteringbang and the fighter jets circled the location once before proceeding in an easterly direction.
“The Government of Guyana condemns this latest act of aggression by the Venezuelan armed forces as a violation of the sovereignty of Guyana over the air above its territory,” the ministry stated.

The government said that this latest hostility follows closely on the heels of a decree recently issued by Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro, which purports to establish maritime territory for Venezuela which encompasses Guyana’s territorial waters, EEZ and continental shelf, as well as its land territory west of the Essequibo River The Foreign Affairs Ministry also noted that Venezuela had previously intercepted and detained two Guyanese fishing vessels and their crew in Guyana’s waters.
In addition, it has noted “the resolutions of the Special Commission for the Defence of the ‘Guayana Esequiba’ and Territorial Sovereignty, which recommended the convening a session of this Special Commission to the Essequibo with the assistance of the Venezuelan armed forces.”
The incursion, the Guyana Government said of the two Venezuelan fighter jets, is a clear indication that the Government of Venezuela is prepared to use aggression and intimidation to accomplish what cannot be accomplished by legal means — the surrender by Guyana of its patrimony.
“The Government of Guyana exhorts the Government of Venezuela, and its agents, to behave in a manner consistent with international law and good neighbourly relations. The international community will be kept informed of all actions undertaken by Venezuela to undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Guyana and threaten the peace and security of the region,” the Foreign Affairs Ministry noted.