Dear Editor,

WHEN it comes to the 124-year-old border controversy between Guyana and Venezuela, President Dr. Irfaan Ali is leaving no stones unturned as he deals with the erratic behaviour of the Maduro regime in the most serious manner.

On several occasions, His Excellency has made it clear to all and sundry in the world that Guyana has always been and will always be a peaceful nation that respects the rule of law, but Venezuela’s claim to the Essequibo region poses a direct threat to Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as well threatening the economic stability, tranquility, and peaceful existence of the Caribbean, which unlike Venezuela has never encroached on the territory of any other nation.

The border controversy between Guyana and Venezuela which dates back to the 1899 Arbitral Award, has shown how successive governments have tried but failed to settle this age-old controversy, but President Ali is determined and committed to settle it once and for all.

Not only has he elevated the border controversy to the World Court which is highest legal body capable of settle controversies peacefully between and among countries, but he has also apprised the members of the international community, chief among them is the United States as well as regional organisations including the European Union, Commonwealth of Nations, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and our neighbours at CARICOM and at the Organisation of American States (OAS).

He told the world that Venezuela’s recent deployment of troops on its border with Guyana and its latest threats to use force to unilaterally annex the Essequibo region are designed to undermine and disregard the rule of law and the impending case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

President Ali has always taken the threats from the Maduro Regime very seriously and so is the government and opposition lawmakers who during a November 6 debate on the border controversy, unanimously approved a motion regarding Venezuela in the National Assembly.

The lawmakers have noted that in addition to the deployment of thousands of troops by the Maduro regime on the Venezuelan side of the border, it has placed several postings on social media declaring that Essequibo belongs to Venezuela, which is false. They also reaffirmed Guyana’s commitment to the ICJ and have ruled out any bilateral talks between President Ali and President Maduro to settle the controversy.

As a pragmatist, His Excellency realised that in terms of military prowess, Guyana is no match to Venezuela whose National Bolivarian Armed Forces comprised of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, is the 4th largest military in Latin America, behind Brazil, Colombia and Mexico and is more than half the size of Guyana’s population.

Therefore, while Venezuela broods over military threats, it is inconceivable for Guyana to think that there is a military solution to settle the border controversy. However, after a very careful assessment of the escalation of tension propagated by Caracas and the misleading rhetoric disseminated by President Maduro to buttress his claim over Essequibo, President Dr. Ali has sought and received solid support and meaningful partnerships with members of the international community and regional allies to condemn the reckless behaviour of Venezuela.

Despite the saber-rattling from Venezuela, President Dr. Irfaan Ali’s eyes were firm on the prize to thwart Maduro plans because he knew he had options which he saved for the last. To strengthen and expand relations with Brazil, given its historic position on the inviolability of borders. President Ali held discussions with the President of Brazil, Luis Inacio ‘Lula’ Da Silva on a wide range of bilateral issues, including defence, military co-operation, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the rule of international law, the Venezuela border controversy, infrastructure, and economic co-operation, among others. The talks between President Ali and his Brazilian counter-part were held amid repeated threats by Venezuela to use force to annex the Essequibo region which was of concern to Brazil. The Brazilian President has always been concerned about violence in the region and has called for a diplomatic and or legal settlement to the border controversy.

If anyone had any misgivings about President Ali’s strategy on the border controversy or his resolve to settle it peacefully through the ICJ, they should be cast aside.

To the surprise of almost everyone, the Venezuelan Ambassador to Guyana Carlos Amador Pérez Silva declared on November 12, 2023, that Venezuela would not invade Guyana even if its citizens vote ‘yes’ in the referendum on December 3, 2023, to annex the Essequibo region.

The Venezuelan envoy explained that the deployment of troops to Venezuela’s border with Guyana is part of an operation codenamed “Operation Roraima” to tackle illegal gold mining, drug trafficking, trafficking in persons, gangs and other “internal security” matters.

Despite Ambassador Silva proclamation, President Dr. Ali will not claim victory or budge from his position that Venezuela’s claim to Essequibo is false, groundless, and illegal. He will continue to push for a peaceful and legal settlement at the ICJ.

Sincerely,
Dr. Asquith Rose