In its March 1st Communique following the meeting of Heads of Government in Georgetown from February 25 to 28, CARICOM deplored what it described as “significant Venezuelan military border activity” but noted a lowering of tensions.
“Heads of Government received an update on developments in Guyana/Venezuela relations. They decried the significant Venezuelan military border activity, but noted a lowering of tensions since the Joint Declaration of Argyle for Dialogue and Peace between Guyana and Venezuela, was issued on December 14, 2023, following the meeting of the Presidents of the two countries.
“They welcomed the convening of the first meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Guyana and Venezuela and their technical teams in Brasilia on January 25, 2024, as a positive step to rebuilding cooperation between the two countries, while the International Court of Justice determines the case concerning the land boundary.
“Heads also noted that Venezuela has until April 8, 2024, to submit its counter-memorial on the merits of the case regarding the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award that had determined the boundary between British Guiana and Venezuela, and urged it to do so”, the communique said.
Public word of the Venezuelan military activity close to the border with Guyana came from a February 9th report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). It published satellite images generated by Maxar Technologies showing reinforcements as recent as January this year on Ankoko Island in the Cuyuni River. Half of Ankoko belonged to this country but was seized by Venezuela in 1966 just after Guyana gained independence.
CSIS noted that in the weeks leading up to the January 25, 2024 Joint Commission meeting in Brasília as mandated by the joint declaration from the Argyle meeting, Venezuela had been building up a military presence on Ankoko Island.
It said that a video, linked to the Bolivarian National Guard dated January 15, 2024, shows a staging area across the Cuyuni River from Ankoko Island where construction materials are piled up. Three armoured vehicles, likely V-100/150 Commando amphibious armoured personnel carriers (APCs) are also visible in the staging area. The analysis said that Maxar satellite imagery of the area from January 13, 2024, also shows the APCs, construction materials, a heavy river ferry and the clearing of a new area to the north, likely where Venezuelan military engineers intend to build a Mabey Compact 200 bridge to the island.
More recently, the analysis said that videos shared from Venezuelan military and government social media accounts on January 24 and 25 (the day of the joint commission meeting in Brasília) show an exercise taking place on Ankoko under the supervision of General Domingo Hernández Lárez, commander of the Strategic Operational Command of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces (FANB), who reports only to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino López.
On March 1st , the VIII Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac), was held in St Vincent and the Grenadines and both Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali and Venezuelan President Maduro were present.
President Ali spoke on the issue of peace and stability of the region which he asserted “must remain paramount”.
It was with this in mind, Ali explained, that Guyana accepted the offer of Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves and other CARICOM Heads, Brazil, and the UN as an observer, to facilitate a dialogue with Venezuelan President Maduro last December to address the tensions that had arisen between the two states.
“I can assure you that Guyana remains steadfast in its commitment to the international judicial process, as well as, to maintaining our region as a ‘Zone of Peace’. We want peace. We want prosperity for our neighbours and all in this region. We want to be our brother’s keeper with our neighbour”, he said.
Ali and Maduro also exchanged gifts at the Celac meeting.
