GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – The Guyana government Wednesday denied Venezuela’s claim of joint efforts by the United States and Guyana to increase a military presence along the border with Guyana, with Caracas also accusing President Irfaan Ali of continuing to “refuse to engage in direct dialogue” with the South American country on the border issue.
“The Foreign Ministry is not aware of that. That appears to be the usual posture of Venezuela, which is to mislead and to create division in the region. I think they’re failing at that miserably,” Foreign Minister Hugh Todd said in response to an official statement by Caracas.
Todd said Caracas was spewing its usual propaganda, adding, “This is what Caracas is engaging in: a lot of misinformation and a lot of propaganda, and this is for their local consumption to build momentum in the lead-up to their so-called referendum that they’re planning on the December 3”.
He urged Caracas to pay attention to the motion that was passed by the National Assembly this week, denouncing the referendum that seeks a popular vote on the annexation of Guyana’s Essequibo County and non-participation in the International Court of Justice adjudication of Guyana’s case on the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Tribunal Award on the land boundary between the two countries.
The statement by Venezuela comes less than 48 hours after the Guyana parliament, in a rare case of national unity, formally rejected Venezuela’s claims to ownership of the mineral and forest-rich county of Essequibo through a referendum on December 3, with both government and opposition legislators denouncing the move by Caracas.
Earlier this week, the newly appointed United States Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot, said she would use her tenure here to support further the bilateral defense partnership “that will enhance our mutual security goals, address cross-cutting threats, and advance regional security.”
The US diplomat said she regards the US-Guyana security partnership as “truly a model for the region,” adding, “we want to continue to enhance and grow that relationship in the years to come.”
In its statement, Caracas said that it “strongly rejects” the joint announcement made by Guyana and the United States governments of an “increase in military presence in the region to protect American energy companies.
“This constitutes the greatest threat to the stability of the Caribbean and Latin America,” Caracas said, noting that President Ali is refusing to engage in dialogue “to resolve the territorial dispute, as mandated by the 1966 Geneva Agreement.
“Instead, he enters into agreements with the most aggressive military power in human history, which through its so-called Southern Command, has been conducting military operations in an area with substantial energy resources that are being illegally exploited by Exxon Mobil.”
Venezuela said it was warning the international community “and especially the countries of the Caribbean, about the dangerous maneuvers of Guyana, which seeks to escalate a conflict driven by the excessive financial appetite of its ruling class and its stubborn refusal to comply with international norms, continuing oil exploration and exploitation in an undelimited maritime area with Venezuela.”
The South American country said that the people of Venezuela “will continue to mobilize, denouncing Guyana’s warlike position and on December 3 will make history through the Popular Referendum, establishing the guiding light for continuing to protect their legitimate and historical rights over the Essequibo region by International law”.
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