WHILE condemning Venezuela’s recent actions and maintaining that they are a display of the nation’s greed, numerous Trinidadians have voiced their unequivocal support for Guyana.

Speaking to Loop T&T, Trinidadians did not hesitate to slam the Bolivarian Republic for trying to take advantage of their sister Caribbean Community (CARICOM) nation.

One man firmly stated: “I think we, Trinidad and Tobago, need to stand with Guyana and support them against a bigger power,” while underscoring that with Guyana becoming a star in both the regional and international realm, all eyes are on the nation.

Anand, whose wife is Guyanese, condemned Venezuela’s recent actions, and called for the zone to remain one of peace.

“When you have unity and strength for the people, you [should not] fight for land, oil and money. You have to fight for peace and togetherness,” he told the interviewer.

Furthermore, another Trinidadian described Venezuela as “greedy”, and called on all to pray for peace.

Additionally, another individual spoke of the fundamental principle of international law to one to respect the sovereignty of other states.

“I think it’s a very distressing issue, and it isn’t nice that Venezuela wants to invade Guyana, because I think that every country deserves to have their own sovereign right,” he said.

For context of the ongoing Guyana-Venezuela controversy, the International Court of Justice (ICJ0, on December 1 granted Guyana provisional measures to prevent any action by Venezuela that could lead to the annexation of Guyana’s territory.

The decision was handed down by the President of the ICJ, Justice Joan E. Donoghue, at the Peace Palace in The Hague, in The Netherlands.

The court ordered that pending the decision of the substantive case which concerns the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award that defines the boundary between the two nations, Venezuela shall refrain from taking any action that would modify the situation that currently prevails with the territory, which Guyana administers and exercises control over.

As an additional measure, the court also ordered that “both parties refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the court or make it more difficult to resolve.

Owing to Venezuela’s actions, while Guyana maintains its commitment to peace, the Guyanese Head of State said the nation is taking various steps to safeguard its territorial sovereignty.