–US Deputy Secretary of State says, calls on OAS to respond to territorial threats, disregard for international norms

FLAGGING Venezuela’s continued threats to Guyana’s territorial integrity and disregard for international law, United States Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau on Thursday charged the Organisation of American States (OAS) to reject authoritarian and anti-democratic regimes and those that seek to pursue political vendettas through the judicial process.

The senior US official while addressing the OAS’ General Assembly being held in Antigua and Barbuda said: “This is not a time for mere words and slogans about hemispheric solidarity.  It’s time for the OAS to show results.”

The Nicolás Maduro administration held a national vote in May to support illegal claims over Guyana’s Essequibo region. This latest development occurred as Guyana was celebrating her 59th Independence anniversary. The border controversy is presently being before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which has cautioned Venezuela against taking any unilateral actions that would alter the status quo.

There have been no recent reports of unauthorised activities in bordering communities.

Landau used the occasion to question what the point of the OAS is if it cannot respond to threats to territorial integrity and the disregard for international norms.

“If this organisation is unwilling or unable to respond to or remedy this situation, where a regime openly thumbs its nose at international norms and threatens the territorial integrity of its neighbour, then we must ask what’s the point of the organisation,” he said.

The US he noted will continue to be a trusted partner in affirming the sovereign right to secure borders, uphold democratic norms, and strengthen the organisations through action and not mere rhetoric.

“The bottom line is that the United States is uniquely positioned at this juncture to be an active partner in the hemisphere.  We’d like this organisation to be part of the solution, not the problem, and look forward to constructive engagement.”

On May 1, 2025, the ICJ ordered the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to refrain from holding or preparing for any elections in Guyana’s Essequibo region, pending a final ruling on the ongoing border controversy.

The decision comes in response to a request by Guyana following Venezuela’s January 2025 announcement of plans to elect a governor and legislative council for what it claims to be the “Guayana Esequiba State.”

In its ruling, the World Court reaffirmed the provisional measures granted on December 1, 2023, and introduced a new, binding directive.

The court in its December 1, 2023 order, stated: “Pending a final decision in the case, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela shall refrain from taking any action which would modify the situation that currently prevails in the territory in dispute for which the Cooperative Republic of Guyana administers and exercises control over that area; and both parties shall refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the court or make it more difficult to resolve.”

The border controversy between Guyana and Venezuela was settled by the 1899 Arbitral Agreement.

However, during the early 1960s, Venezuela’s claims to the Essequibo region resurged, and the country threatened physical invasion.

Guyana has maintained that its terrestrial boundary is 83,000 square miles, in addition to the internationally known maritime allocation.