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PoliticsVenezuela

Venezuela, Guyana agree to talks as border dispute flares

December 10, 2023

A longstanding border dispute between the two Latin American countries has reached new highs recently. Venezuela claims the oil-rich Essequibo region in Guyana and last weekend staged a vote on its ambitions.

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Aerial view of the Rupununi Savannah in western Guyana, near the border with Brazil and Venezuela, taken on April 12, 2023.
Venezuela's interest in the long-disputed Essequibo region intensified after the 2015 discovery of oil in the regionImage: Martin Silva/AFP

Venezuela and Guyana are due to hold a high-level meeting in the coming days to discuss sovereignty over the oil-rich region, after the decades-old border dispute has been recently rehashed.

The meeting will be held on Thursday in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Caribbean country's Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves announced. Brazilian President  Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will attend, at the request of the two quarreling countries.

What do we know about the meeting?

The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said in a Saturday statement that the high-level meeting follows separate phone conversations between President Nicolas Maduro, Moros and Lula and Gonsalves.

The ministry said the meeting would aim "to preserve our aspiration to maintain Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace, without interference from external actors."

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines currently chairs the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.

In a letter to Maduro and Guyana's President Irfaan Ali, Gonsalves stressed the "urgent need to de-escalate the conflict and institute an appropriate dialogue, face-to-face."

The Office of the President of Guyana confirmed Ali had agreed to the meeting, but added, "Guyana's land boundary is not up for discussion."

In the phone call with Maduro, Lula said it was important to avoid unilateral measures that could escalate the situation.

What has reignited the border conflict?

Essequibo currently makes up around two-thirds of Guyanese territory and is home to around 15% of its population, with 125,000 Guyanese citizens living in the region.

Venezuela has revived its territorial claim over the region after US energy conglomerate ExxonMobil discovered a significant amount of oil in Essequibo's offshore waters in 2015, transforming Guyana into  the world's fourth-largest offshore oil producer.

Tensions rose after Maduro's government staged a referendum last weekend over Caracas' claim.

Some 95% of the voters supported Venezuela declaring itself the region's rightful owner, according to official results; Essequibo's residents were not polled in the non-binding ballot.

Consultative referendum on the Esequivo, in the city of Valencia, Carabobo state on Dec 3, 2023.
Since the referendum, Maduro has started legal maneuvers to create a Venezuelan province in EssequiboImage: Juan Carlos Hernandez/ZUMA Wire/IMAGO

Since then, Maduro has started legal maneuvers to create a Venezuelan province in Essequibo. He has also ordered the state oil company to issue licenses for extracting crude in the region.

Venezuela claims Essequibo is part of its territory because the region was part of its boundaries during the Spanish colonial era. International arbitrators in 1899 handed Essequibo to former British and Dutch colony Guyana, with the Guyanese government using this decision as its justification for control of the region.    

Litigation at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) seeking a decision over the border dispute is pending.

The ICJ had appealed to Venezuela to refrain from taking action that could influence the case on Essequibo — which Maduro ignored, pressing ahead with his non-binding referendum last weekend.

Venezuela says referendum affirms claim to Guyanese region

rmt/msh (AFP, Reuters)