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FACING NEW THREATS FROM VENEZUELA
Since taking office the Granger/Nagamootoo government has faced several problems—floods; a bankrupt GUYSUCO; a declining economy; a spike in crime, even higher road fatalities and the problems of the previous administration.
However, the threat by Venezuela to invade two-thirds of Guyana’s territory and the cancelation of the PetroCaribe agreement which provides an exchange of rice for oil are daunting. They have overwhelmed the government.
That Venezuela has amassed troops along Guyana’s borders is frightening. It has left the government scrambling for ideas to deter Venezuela’s invasion. Venezuela’s actions have taken time away from the government to deal with the economy, crime and other issues.
President Granger’s efforts to apprise the UN, and other international and regional organizations about Venezuela’s threats to invade Guyana seem not to impact Venezuela’s plans. Such act of aggression by Venezuela is very serious.
The United States and members of the international community must come to the defence of Guyana. When Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990, the United States and several members of the international community came to Kuwait’s rescue in what is known as the Gulf War. Briefly, the border dispute between Venezuela and Guyana has been a longstanding issue inherited from the colonial powers. It became complicated when Guyana attained its independence in 1966.
It began in the 1840s with a flurry with diplomatic exchanges betweenVenezuela and Britain. Venezuela claimed that the boundary line should be east of the Essequibo River while Britain insisted that it should stretch from the Cuyuni Basin in the North-West to the mouth of the Orinoco River. Disagreement by each side claims led to a diplomatic impasse.
Citing hemispheric solidarity, the United States in the 1890s supported Venezuela’s claims and proposed that the dispute be settled by arbitration; Britain refused the proposal. President Grover Cleveland then established a Boundary Commission to determine where the boundary line should be drawn. It threatened military action against Britain before it agreed to arbitration.
The Boundary Commission was disbanded for a five-member Tribunal with two members each from the U.S and Britain and one from Russia. After a thorough investigation, the Tribunal met in Paris in 1899 and ruled largely in favor of Britain which Venezuela accepted.
In 1966, Venezuela reopened its claim on the allegations that the Tribunal decision was biased and based on a collusion between the British and the Americans against Venezuela’s interests.
Both the U.S and Britain debunked Venezuela’s claim thus leaving the status of the border dispute with the Geneva Treaty. It stipulated that both countries agree to solve the problem peacefully.
The expiration of the Mixed Commission established by the Geneva Treaty led to the Port-of-Spain Protocol in 1973 which placed a 10-year moratorium on Venezuela’s claim while the border dispute was in abeyance.
Since then Venezuela has made numerous incursions on Guyana’s territory. In 2013, it suspended the oil exploration vessel TeknikPerdana from conducting surveys for oil exploration in Guyana’s territory on behalf of the government.
In early May, the American Oil Company, ExxonMobil announced that it had found oil in an area off the Essequibo territory. Venezuela responded to the declaration with a decree issued on May 27 that extended its maritime boundary into the disputed area. Guyana responded by revoking the operating license of the Conviasa, the Venezuela national airline.
Clearly Venezuela’s President is flexing his muscles to bolster his poor image at home. It is the belief that leaders who face strife at home always attempt to create external conflicts as a distraction.
Even though Guyana has no military force comparable to Venezuela’s, President Granger has made it clear that its claim will not have any impact on Guyana’s plans to exploit its hydro-carbon resources.
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