One day after Venezuela's Defense Minister, Vladimir Padrino López, suggested the use of “all the national and military power of the country” to annex Essequibo, internationally recognized as a territory of Guyana, the Venezuelan government said it intends to guarantee peace and good international coexistence.
The change in tone came after the President of Guyana, Irfaan Ali, released on social media a statement from the Guyanese government stating that the annexation of Essequibo is “a flagrant violation of the most fundamental principles of international law”.
There he criticized the promulgation, by President Nicolás Maduro, of a law that allows the incorporation of the disputed territory into Venezuela.
In response, Venezuela rejected Ali's criticism in a statement released by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil this Thursday (4).
“The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela was, is and will continue to be a nation that guarantees peace and good international coexistence, and will resort to all available means, within the scope of diplomacy and international law, to safeguard sovereign and historical interests over its territory”, says the text, which reinforces, however, Venezuela’s intention to continue with the annexation.
The argument supported by Venezuela is that the so-called Organic Law for the Defense of Essequibo, signed on Wednesday (3) by Maduro, is covered by international law through the 1966 Geneva Agreement.
Signed between the United Kingdom and Venezuela, the agreement recognizes the Venezuelan claim to “Guiana Essequiba”.
Irfaan Ali argues that the enacted law contradicts the Argyle Joint Declaration for Dialogue and Peace between Guyana and Venezuela, agreed in December 2023 in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. “This illegal act calls into question Venezuela’s duty to respect the principles of this Declaration,” said Ali.
The Venezuelan government's statement calls the presence of the oil and gas multinational ExxonMobil in Essequibo a “dangerous maneuver” supported by the US, and accuses the American government of appropriating energy resources administered illegally in the territory claimed by Venezuela.
Organic Law for the Defense of Essequibo
Nicolás Maduro promulgated on Wednesday (3) the so-called Organic Law for the Defense of Essequibo, which creates a Venezuelan region within the territory internationally recognized as part of Guyana.
“After the people demonstrated constitutionally on December 3, the National Assembly did what it had to do, expanded the call for consultation on the Organic Law for the Defense of Guyana Esequiba,” said Maduro in a publication on platform X this Wednesday .
“With the power that the constitution gives me, the decision taken by Venezuelans in the consultative referendum will be fulfilled in all its parts and, with this Law, we will continue the defense of Venezuela on international stages.”
Guyana says its borders are not subject to dispute and it will defend its sovereignty.
The United States, in turn, expressed its support for Guyana's position. In December, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Washington stands by its call to the parties for a “peaceful resolution.”
Itamaraty observes with “caution” President Nicolas Maduro’s decision to enact a law to annex the territory of Essequibo to Venezuela.
The Essequibo area corresponds to two-thirds of Guyanese territory, therefore an annexation by Venezuela would represent a threat to the integrity of Guyana.
Source: CNN Brasil
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