Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hugh Todd yesterday told the National Assembly that Venezuela has been increasingly active in Guyana’s maritime space since January 7, 2021.
Speaking before the House at the start of the 16th Sitting of the 12th Assembly, Todd explained that since Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced that he had established “a new maritime territory” navy vessels and other Venezuelan assets had illegally patrolled Guyana’s maritime space and continue to undermine its development by threatening Guyana’s sovereign rights and hindering economic activity.
Maduro’s unilateral decree which has been rejected by regional organisations including the Organization of American States labelled sections of Guyana’s territory the Territory for the development of the Atlantic Façade “in order to provide adequate protection and safeguard the jurisdiction of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela”.
Todd told the Assembly that it was during one of these illegal patrols on January 21 that two Guyanese fishing vessels, Lady Nayera and Sea Wolf, were intercepted by Venezuelan naval vessel, Com-mandante Hugo Chavez GC 24, off the coast of Waini Point well within Guyana’s territory.
The crew and both vessels were illegally detained by the Venezuelan Government and are currently still in detention at Port Guiria.
Stabroek News has previously reported that the men appeared in Court on Monday. During this appearance the Venezuelan authorities were granted 45 days to conclude investigations and possibly lay charges.
Following an intense lobby by the Guyana Foreign Service, individual Member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Community as a whole, have denounced the action taken by Venezuela calling upon them to release the crew and vessels.
The Organisation of American States has also issued a statement in which it stressed that “resolution of the territorial (controversy) between Venezuela and Guyana is a matter that lies under international jurisdiction, and cannot be settled by unilateral action. Any attempt to derail this international legal process such as the decree, issued by the Maduro regime is contrary to international law and standards, and has no legal bearing on significance.”
Venezuela in reacting to the CARICOM statement sought to argue that it was Guyana’s actions which should be of concern to the region.
“Venezuela has shown unconditional solidarity at times when its Caribbean neighbors have experienced difficult situations. It has never promoted military operations or exercises with extra-regional powers in controversial waters or territories, as Guyana has done,” they said in a statement issued yesterday.
According to Venezuela, the joint military operations between the Guyana Defence Force and the Coast Guard Service of the United States of America is what should constitute a shared concern for the Caribbean community.
Todd, meanwhile, told the House that government is encouraged that the international community is seized of this matter and has encouraged Venezuela to release the Guyanese nationals and their fishing vessels and to desist from actions that violate international law and threaten the peace and stability of the region.
“Guyana values highly the support which it has received and continues to receive from individual member states of the international community such as Belize, Brazil, Canada, France, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, as well as through regional and international groupings of CARICOM, the OAS, the Commonwealth, the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States and the European Union in its strenuous endeavours to preserve its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he explained.
Speaking with reporters during a recess, Todd said that he personally felt “good” that there has been this outpouring of support for Guyana.
He noted that claims from the Venezue-lan government that the cargo of the two vessels included a protected species of hammerhead shark are not relevant to the matter at hand.
“We are dealing with the release of the crew and vessel not with the catch. At the end of the day the men were in Guyanese territory that would be a matter for us to adjudicate not Venezuela. We don’t want to be distracted let’s stay focused…we need to have the vessels released as soon as possible,” he maintained.
