SIR Ronald Sanders’ reading of Delcy Rodríguez’s decision to wear, during official Caribbean engagements last week, a brooch depicting Venezuela with Guyana’s Essequibo region folded into its map, is a timely and compelling framing of the principles at stake and the message it sends to Guyana, the wider Caribbean, and the international community.
The former ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the United States and the Organisation of American States, and now the Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Sir Sanders, aptly titled his important and must-read contribution “A Pin, a Principle, and the Integrity of the Caribbean – Territorial claims are decided in court, not worn on a lapel.”
Starting tomorrow, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will begin a week of public hearings on the merits of the Arbitral Award of October 3, 1899 (Guyana v. Venezuela), at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the Court’s seat. I expect many Guyanese will use this moment to brush up on the compelling arguments behind the nationwide campaign, launched in 2023 by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), with thousands of bumper stickers and billboards proudly declaring: “Essequibo ah we own.”
A breach of principles is one thing, but far more troubling is the pattern of behaviour by Caracas. More than being an affront to the Caribbean Community and, more specifically, Guyana, Rodriquez’s metal badge demonstrates yet another instance where Venezuela has stuck a pin into the ICJ by openly threatening Guyana’s sovereignty. This is hardly symbolic.
On December 1, 2023, the ICJ ordered Venezuela, then still ruled by Nicolás Maduro, to refrain from any action that would alter the status quo in the Essequibo or aggravate the dispute, after Guyana asked the Court to stop a referendum aimed at annexing its territory. Venezuela ignored the ICJ and went ahead with the vote three days later and then declared that more than 95 per cent of voters had endorsed making Essequibo a Venezuelan state.
Between January and April 2024, Caracas moved to extend Venezuelan citizenship and identification cards to Guyanese citizens. Caracas established an “Integral Defence Zone of Guyana Esequiba” and threatened Guyana’s licences and concessions in the area. The Hon. Hugh Todd described these steps as “blatant attempts to annex Guyana’s territory in open violation of the ICJ’s order and international law.”
Venezuela backed its threats with military action by beefing up military assets on our borders along the Cuyuni. When President Mohamed Irfaan Ali was presented with satellite images pointing to more aircraft, missiles and fast attack craft positioned within striking distance of our territory, Guyana’s military was placed on high alert.
Venezuela’s threats at sea have been just as clear. In early 2025, the Government of Guyana condemned an incursion by an armed Venezuelan patrol vessel that approached and harassed Guyanese-flagged oil installations, falsely claiming they were operating in Venezuelan waters. This followed earlier episodes in which Venezuelan naval units interfered with vessels conducting lawful petroleum operations under Guyanese licences. These were deliberate attempts to intimidate Guyana and to undermine investor confidence in our offshore sector, even while the ICJ process was pending.
Guyana returned to the ICJ in 2025 seeking additional provisional measures after Caracas announced plans to hold elections for a “governor” and legislative council in the so‑called Guayana Esequiba state. On May 1, 2025, the Court reaffirmed its earlier orders and went even further to explicitly direct Venezuela to refrain from conducting or preparing any elections in the territory under Guyana’s administration.
The Government of Guyana has since called on Venezuela to comply fully with these binding measures and to cease any action that violates our territorial integrity or threatens peace and security in the region. Yet, instead of retreating from this dangerous course, Venezuela has continued to promote, at home and abroad, the false narrative that Essequibo is already part of its sovereign territory.
CARICOM’s April 28, 2026 statement, warning that Community platforms must not be used to promote claims to be adjudicated by the ICJ, was an important step. It signalled that the region will not allow its institutions to be converted into a stage for annexationist propaganda against one of its own. President Ali’s letter to the CARICOM Chair, objecting to the appearance of the brooch at a community-related event, was fully justified.
But we must be clear: the brooch controversy is not about fashion or even symbolism in isolation; It is about the visual expression of a project that has already produced illegal referenda, annexationist laws, military deployments and armed incursions, all in defiance of two sets of ICJ provisional measures.
If the Caribbean is to “stand on the side of law,” as Sir Ronald rightly urges, States must refuse to normalise aggressive actions that seek to change facts on the ground while the ICJ is deliberating.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.