By Greg Quinn
The greatest threat to Oil Dorado lies to the West. Guyana has had a troublesome neighbour in Venezuela for 125 years. The border dispute has heated up as Maduro tries to divert attention away from domestic problems. Greg Quinn argues that appeasement is the wrong way forward
Lessons from history
Following US pressure in favour of Venezuela (citing a claim that British actions violated the Monroe Doctrine) in 1897 the United Kingdom, the colonial power in British Guiana, agreed to an arbitral process (signing the Washington Treaty) to decide the border between the then British Guiana and Venezuela. With this Treaty both the UK and Venezuela agreed that the ultimate Arbitral Award in Paris would be a ‘full, perfect, and final settlement’ [my emphasis] of the border issue.