BAHAMAS-Bahamas condemns Venezuela’s move in the border dispute with Guyana.

NASSAU, Bahamas, The Bahamas government has criticized Venezuela’s latest move to annex parts of Guyana in its ongoing border dispute with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.

“I am disheartened that after all that CARICOM has done to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela during a most trying economic and political period in its history, Vene, zeal should now seek to annex territory in a CARICOM state,” Prime Minister Phillip Davis said in a statement.

He said he wanted to “make it clear” that the Bahamas supports Guyana “and its sovereignty and territorial integrity, as was settled by the 1899 arbitral award, adding “these borders have defined the territory of Guyana since its independence in 1966.

“The Bahamas demands that Venezuela respect the settled borders, abide by the December 1 1 1uling of the International Court of Justice, and refrain from any actions that would disturb these existing borders.”

Davis will join his CARICOM leaders later on Friday to discuss the situation. Earlier this month, the 15-member grouping said Venezuela cannot, by a referendum or otherwise, violate international law and disregard the order of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its ongoing border dispute with Guyana over the mineral and forest-rich county of Essequibo.

“Further, CARICOM demands that the Caribbean be respected as a Zone of Peace and that nothing should be done to disrupt the region’s tranquility, which is essential to the economic prosperity and social well-being of all CARICOM and Latin America countries,” it added.

Following the referendum on Sunday, which the Venezuela government said had been approved by at least 95 percent of the voters, President Nicolas Maduro announced that foreign companies working in Essequibo would have to withdraw within three months, asserting his right to do so after Venezuelan voters backed the DecembeDecember 3ndum to seeking ownership of the area.

“I propose a special law to prohibit all companies that work under Guyana concessions from any transaction. They have three months to withdraw” once his proposal is approved,” Maduro added.

While Maduro hasn’t yet dispatched any military forces to enforce his demands, he said he would create an army unit for the disputed territory but that it would be based in a neighboring Venezuelan state.