Maduro’s pronouncement on Essequibo runs counter to the ICJ’s binding order and Argyle AGreement

Dear Editor,

The January, 7, 2025, pronouncement by Venezuela’s Nicholas Maduro to elect a Governor of the “Guayana Esequiba “ is both presumptuous and a clear violation of the December 14, 2023 Argyle Agreement  and the December 1, 2023 BINDING ORDER of the International Court of Justice (ICJ),The Hague, Netherlands on the ongoing border disputation between Guyana and Venezuela.

Maduro’s unilateral decision to elect said Governor- is a clear violation of these agreements of which Venezuela is a signatory to. It must be noted, also, that the increased aggression against Guyana accelerated dramatically since oil was discovered within Guyana’s territorial waters.

Venezuelan with a population of approximately 29 million in contrast with Guyana’s population of a mere 850,000 is truly a “David vs Goliath” apparition. Is this/will this devolve into be a case of “might is right”?  Will the free world condone such a blatant disregard for international litigation that is beyond the pale?

As a citizen of Region 3 in Guyana and closest to Essequibo, I join with the collective voices of all Guyanese as well as the present Government of Guyana to vehemently repudiate such allegorical, overt or covert directive from Nicholas Maduro. This rhetoric is combustible and can be a catalyst for sanctioned/unsanctioned incursion into Guyanese territory by unsavory characters and/ or unscrupulous manipulators.

The ICJ’s Order unequivocally states that both Guyana and Venezuelan must refrain from any action that would inflame this sensitive situation and aggravate further lest such actions make it intractably difficult to resolve this current dispute.

Whether Maduro’s actions are grandiloquent to impress his supporters or ostentatious to psych out Guyana, I call on the Government of Guyana to immediately and continuously utilize our Diplomats and Guyana’s Foreign Embassies and Consulates to reach out to the Inter-national Diplomatic Community and highlight the unwarranted and aggressive behaviour and contravention of the agreed upon action to resolve the border dispute. I also urge all my Guyanese brothers and sisters cast our political and other differences aside and join me in emphatically condemning the action of Nicholas Maduro. Our National Motto: One People, One Nation, One Destiny must prevail!

Sincerely,

Jonathan Subrian Esq.