Guyana’s president denounces “constant territorial threats” from Venezuela at UN

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In his address, the president criticized that “an agreement was recently issued in Mexico (in the framework of negotiations between the Nicolás Maduro regime and the opposition) under which Venezuela’s internal factions renewed an unfounded verification.”

“Guyana will not be used as a sacrificial altar to settle Venezuela’s internal political differences,” he said.

And he added: “The two parties (Venezuela and Guyana) are bound by the International Court of Justice’s decision.”

Earlier, he said that “the world’s nations are not united, they are divided. The pandemic revealed our collective failure to unite and make decisions together for the common good,” he stressed.

“The pandemic has shown that the system is still marked by nationalism, which remains the most important force. We see that it is not the collective welfare that drives us. We disregard the reality that what affects one affects all,” he continued.

And he concluded: “States are not islands, but part of a whole. The world will not move forward unless we, the nations’ leaders, are committed to recalling the values upheld in the UN Charter.”

GUYANA’S TERRITORIAL CLAIM

Last September 8, the Guyanese government rejected the agreement between Chavismo and the Venezuelan opposition.

“That agreement is an open threat to Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation stressed in a statement.

“Guyana cannot be used as a sacrificial altar for the settlement of Venezuela’s internal political differences. While the government of Guyana welcomes an agreement within Venezuela, one that defies international law and due process is not grounds for mediation,” the statement added.

The note stresses that “the dispute between Guyana and Venezuela is appropriately before the International Court of Justice – ICJ – and will remain there for a peaceful resolution.”

Guyana has repeatedly warned Venezuela not to use the border claim to the Essequibo region, rich in minerals, forests and oil, as a bargaining chip for internal affairs.