On December 3rd last year the Government of Venezuela held a referendum to seek the approval of the Venezuelan people to incorporate Essequibo into its national territory. This was, said the Government of Guyana, tantamount to annexing our territory in addition to constituting a crime of aggression. The fact that it violated international law as well as the UN and OAS Charters did not cause Venezuela any disquiet; after all Caracas has never had inhibitions about breaching international instruments of whatever kind.
Venezuela went on to create a project in relation to what it called ‘Guayana Esequiba’ and budgeted $677,915,558 “to increase the logistical, operational and infrastructure capacity … in the border area” with our county. The budget, it might be noted, came some days after the Argyle Declaration, which was the product of a meeting between Presidents Irfaan Ali and Nicolás Maduro, held at the instigation of Brazil and arranged through the agency of St Vincent Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves. It was held on December 14th, 2023.
Brasilia, clearly concerned about an invasion, wanted some forum whereby Mr Maduro could save face about not invading, which he did by telling his public that Guyana had come to negotiate directly with Venezuela as the Geneva Agreement of 1966 requires. The latter agreement stipulates no such thing, but in any case President Ali’s condition for the encounter was that the border would not be discussed.
For our part Guyana made a major concession in so far as Articles 1 and 6 refer to both states, and not just the aggressor, Venezuela. The first of these requires that the two states not threaten or use force against one another, while under the second they both agree to refrain whether by word or deed from escalating any conflict or disagreement between them.
If there were no direct incursions on our mainland following this, Caracas nevertheless did not halt its project. A whole series of bureaucratic measures was undertaken for the incorporation of Essequibo, including the naming of Tumeremo in Bolívar state as the temporary capital and the appointment of a governor. In addition, the National Assembly was requested to draft an ‘organic law’ for the administration of the county.
More sinister, however, was what was going on in the island of Ankoko, half of which belongs to Guyana under the 1899 Award, but which had been seized by Venezuela in 1966 and has never been returned. Less than two months after the Argyle Declaration, the Center for Strategic and International Studies published a report on Venezuela’s substantial military build-up on our portion of Ankoko and their side of the Cuyuni as well as on its Atlantic coast. Its analysis was based on satellite images generated by Maxar Technologies, in addition to videos from the Venezuelan military.
And now this has gone further. On Thursday last week the Ministers of Defence and Transport of Venezuela opened a bridge linking Venezuela’s mainland with Guyana’s portion of Ankoko. In other words, they have, as President Ali put it, built a bridge on territory which is not theirs. If the Venezuelans have refrained from a major incursion on our mainland because of Argyle, they appear instead to be pursuing a policy of creeping annexation.
The Venezuelan daily Últimas Noticias reported that Defence Minister Padrino unveiled a plaque recording the creation of the state of ‘Guayana Esequiba’ during his visit. The bridge was described as an “act of sovereign reaffirmation”
and General Padrino was quoted as saying that it reaffirmed “our commitment to fight for our Essequibo territory.” He went on to say: “ [W]e, the Bolivarian National Armed Forces, have come here to promote national development.”
There was the usual spiel about the neighbouring state defending its territory and sovereignty, a claim so ludicrous it is hard to believe that even Venezuelans take it seriously. Unfortunately, however, the propaganda in that regard has been so relentless over the decades that they do.
There was one detail about this illegal pantomime which should also be noted, and that is a comment by El Universal that while Guyana claims Venezuela is violating her sovereignty, Georgetown has allowed US Southern Command to build a military base in defiance of Geneva and international law. It was a reference to a Caracas Foreign Ministry note which Tal Cual reports was issued on the first anniversary of the Argyle Declaration. It speaks of the establishment of Southern Command military installations in this country, including the use of the Brigadier Gary Beaton Aerodrome.
The note was quoted as saying that these actions, “are unacceptable and represent a new provocation by the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, to the detriment of the spirit of peace that governed the Argyle Agreement, signed with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.” For those still unfamiliar with the new name, this is an allusion to the Eteringbang airstrip. That there are simply no Southern Command installations in this country is something that even Caracas must be aware of. It is simply part of an effort to build a case against Georgetown being in violation of Argyle. There have been earlier allegations of a similar character and the government should not ignore the implication of this development.
The Guyana administration has made the responses it is supposed to make, President Ali telling the GDF at their Christmas lunch that this country would not accept Venezuelan provocations: “As one of our neighbours seeks to further their illegitimate claim to our territory, we will continue to do what is right, follow the international course of law, follow diplomacy …” he said. Foreign Minister Hugh Todd summoned the Venezuelan Ambassador, and his Ministry issued a protest which referred to the violation of Guyana’s sovereignty, and talked of respecting international law and our commitment to the ICJ, which had issued provisional measures prohibiting both countries from interfering with the status quo pending the final decision in our case. All of this was fleshed out in the statement.
For his part the President emphasized the importance of maintaining national unity, and engaging friends and allies. The latter is certainly vital at a political level, but the government here should understand something which CSIS raised early this year, and that is the build-up on Ankoko might have been undertaken to placate sections of the army. “The Venezuelan state is not a unified actor,” it wrote, “fragmented as it is by corruption, criminal interests, and internal jockeying for power.” In addition, local commanders far from the centre of power might escalate matters on their own or instigate provocations which get out of control. The danger of that happening is increased with the latest development.
Additionally, with the uncertain political situation in Venezuela no one can be sure what will happen. With the help of the opposition the government really needs to embark on a far more intense campaign to educate the population than it has so far undertaken. The bridge is a warning.
