—-President Ali says; emphasises Maduro, Venezuela’s clear violation of Argyle Declaration

PRESIDENT, Dr. Irfaan Ali has made it clear that he will not be meeting with Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro, as the Bolivarian Republic continues to blatantly violate the Argyle Declaration.
The Guyanese Head-of-State, in an invited comment to the media on Saturday, said: “I have made it very clear that we are not going to be bullied and I am not going to be bullied. This country and all of us in this country, we’re going to stand firm on our sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

President Ali also underscored Guyana’s commitment to the Argyle Declaration and the orders of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and demanded that Venezuela do the same.
“Let us be clear on something, Guyana has never breached the Argyle Agreement. We have never done anything to disrupt peace in this region or to annoy, much less disrupt what happens in Venezuela. It is Venezuela who would have consistently breached the Argyle Declaration,” President Ali said.

To further highlight how it is Venezuela that has continued to disrupt peace within the region, Dr. Ali pointed to the South American nation’s intention of conducting electoral activities in Guyana’s territory.
The President said that he has made Guyana’s position very clear to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Chair that this controversy will be decided at the ICJ.
Guyana will not go into any discussion with Venezuela when the country is “blatantly disregarding” the Argyle Declaration, the President firmly stated.
“They cannot continue with their plans of electing a governor in territory that does not belong to them, that forms part of our sovereignty and territorial integrity. I’m not going to meet in such blatant violations of the Argyle Declaration,” President Ali firmly said.

Dr. Ali went on to say: “There can be no expectation of a meeting when Venezuela continues to act in clear violation of the Argyle Declaration. They must be prepared to stop every action and all action that is not in keeping with the Argyle Declaration and the ICJ orders.”

Given Venezuela’s growing aggressive actions, Guyana has filed a request for provisional measures with the ICJ to ensure that Venezuela refrains from conducting any electoral activities in the Essequibo region.
Guyana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation noted that the country has informed the Court that the planned Venezuelan elections are scheduled to take place on May 25, 2025, and would inevitably be preceded by preparatory acts, including acts within Guyana’s Essequibo region, affecting the Guyanese population and Guyana’s sovereignty over its territory.

The ICJ has since officially acknowledged Guyana’s request for provisional measures.
The genesis of the border controversy goes back to the 1899 Arbitral Award, a landmark decision that delineated the boundary between British Guiana (now Guyana) and Venezuela. Decades after this historic award, Venezuela reignited tensions by challenging its validity.

In 2018, Guyana took a decisive step by approaching the International Court of Justice (ICJ) seeking affirmation of the award’s legitimacy.
Venezuela initially claimed that the ICJ lacked jurisdiction, a contention flatly rejected by the World Court in a crucial ruling in December 2020. The door was thus opened for the ICJ to delve into the merits of the substantive case.