GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – A senior Guyana government minister Wednesday said that the authorities are aware of Venezuelan “sleepers” in the country, and there will be treason charges for anyone who supports Venezuela’s election to appoint a governor and other officials for the disputed Essequibo region.
“We know that there are some sleepers here; we’ve put out a few already,” Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn said, adding that any Guyanese national or others appointed following the elections will be charged with treason.
“…if is a Guyanese who is appointed to be Governor of Essequibo and be placed at Anna Regina – we will charge that person for treason and lock them up, every one of them.
“They are going to be charged for treason, and anybody supporting them will also be charged,” Benn told a police conference here.
Last week, Guyana called on the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) to block Venezuela from engaging in electoral activities in the Essequibo region, even as the neighboring countries have a pending border case before the judicial body.
“Guyana informed the Court that the planned Venezuelan elections are scheduled to take place on May 25 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.
“Therefore, to preserve its rights, Guyana is requesting that the Court order Venezuela to refrain from any acts within or affecting its sovereign territory, including the Essequibo region,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Venezuela, based on a so-called referendum, has included Guyana’s Essequibo Region on its official map. The government of Venezuela now plans to hold elections for a Governor and Legislative Council, among other areas, in the Essequibo Region.
Later this year, President Nicolas Maduro and the chairman of the National Electoral Council, Elvis Amoroso, announced their intention to conduct elections in Essequibo. This oil-rich region makes up about two-thirds of Guyana and is home to 125,000 of its 800,000 citizens.
The Venezuelans are planning to hold elections for a “Governor” and “Legislative Council” of the so-called “Guayana Esequiba State,” which Venezuela illegally purported to “annex” last year.
In 2023, Caracas claimed that more than half of eligible Venezuelan voters had taken part in a referendum that yielded overwhelming support for claiming the Essequibo.
The two countries are before the ICJ concerning the Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899…which is pending before it.
The .case, which Guyana filed in March 2018, seeks the Court’s decision on the validity of the Arbitral Award, which finally determined the land boundary between the two countries. The Court has already ruled that it has jurisdiction over the controversy and will decide the issue on the merits.
Meanwhile, Guyana deported 75 Venezuelans, including nine children, on Tuesday, one day after they landed in a wooden boat in the vicinity of Abram Zuil, Essequibo Coast, police said.
“They were treated humanely, provided with the necessities of food, and placed at an institution. They were deported …to their country of origin with the assistance of adequate fuel and other amenities,” the Guyana Police Force said in a statement, adding the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard escorted them.
The police said the Venezuelans had failed to present themselves to the immigration department or port of entry using the Atlantic Ocean.
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