BRASILIA, Brazil, CMC: President Luis Inacio ‘Lula’ Da Silva will not attend Thursday’s meeting in St. Vincent and the Grenadines between President Irfaan Ali of Guyana and his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduro, on the contentious border dispute between the two countries, according to Brazilian media reports.
Trinidad and Tobago’s CARICOM and Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr. Avery Browne, speaking on a radio program in Port of Spain Tuesday, confirmed Da Silva’s absence from the talks.
Da Silva, who had been invited to attend the talks brokered by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Caribbean Community CARICOM, will be represented by his foreign relations advisor, Celso Amorim.
The Brazilian media reported that Amorim had traveled to Caracas earlier this month and has been the primary coordinator in the resumption of diplomatic relations between Brazil and Venezuela since Da Silva won a third term in October last year.
One media outlet reported that Amorim, in Lula’s absence, would be responsible for transmitting different messages to the two countries involved in the territorial dispute and that he would indicate that Brazil would not support unilateral measures that lead to an escalation of the situation, adopting a firm stance against the conflict.
Following the December 3 referendum in which the Venezuelan government said at least 95 percent of voters in his South American country voted to support Caracas annexing the Essequibo in Guyana, President Maduro announced that the Essequibo would be Venezuela’s new military zone.
He also urged foreign investors, with concessions granted by Guyana, to have three months to leave and that a census would be conducted to give residents of Essequibo citizenship and Venezuelan identification cards.
On Monday, former Commonwealth secretary-general Sir Shridath Ramphal said “false expectations should not be encouraged” in the talks between the two leaders.
In a statement, Sir Shridath, the co-agent of Guyana before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), said that it is essential that the limits of the talks in Kingstown are understood.
He said for decades, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has been “the most vocal and consistent supporter of Guyana about the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy. “Never was that support more evident than when its Heads of Government held an emergency meeting in that context on December 8, 2023. They did not falter. CARICOM Heads repeated where they stood on the most critical aspects of the current situation,” he said.
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