BORDER DISPUTE IN LIMBO?

Aug 18, 2017 Editorial, Features / Columnists

The CARICOM nations, especially Guyana, should not stand idly and allow Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, to transform Venezuela from a peaceful democracy to a brutal, violent and despotic regime. Our border dispute with Venezuela – which is in the threshold of a political and economic meltdown – could potentially present some problems.
The primary concern is that the crisis in Venezuela could lead to an unmanageable influx of Venezuelan refugees into the country because of our notoriously porous border. Therefore, all necessary preparations should be made in the event the situation becomes real.
Secondly, much is at stake for Guyana, because it would not be inconceivable that the border dispute may be in limbo as a result of the continued unrest next door. It certainly is not a priority for Maduro, who faces stiff opposition at home and from neighbouring countries.
While the CARICOM leaders have always upheld the principle that no country should interfere in the sovereign affairs of others, they should not condone Venezuela’s descent into totalitarianism. In fact, many agree with the financial sanctions imposed on the Maduro regime by the US.
The CARICOM leaders have called for a peaceful solution to end the violence in Venezuela. They have also offered to mediate the impasse between President Maduro and the leaders of the opposition on condition that all parties must approach the mediation process with good faith.
Although they have called off their mediation proposal following the illegal imprisonment of the leaders of the opposition, the CARICOM states must act urgently. They cannot afford to stand by and witness the birth of a dictator who has taken complete control of the state apparatus. The US has hinted at military action against Venezuela should Maduro proceed to change the constitution.
Maduro would have the people in the world to believe that the recent elections will usher in a new era of peace and stability. This is far from the truth, because his actions since have demonstrated what many had feared all along. Against the will of the majority of Venezuelans, Maduro is using his newly appointed constituent assembly as a front for an unashamedly brutal consolidation of his power. He has continued his bloody quest to silence opponents, thereby ensuring the end of a free and democratic society. If there was any doubt as to his intentions, the events of the last few days have clarified them.
It was only hours after the results of the rigged elections were announced that Maduro ordered his security forces to imprison the leaders of the opposition, Leopoldo López and Antonio Ledezma. Although both men had been under house arrest, their lawyers have contended that there is no clear legal basis for their house arrests or their imprisonment. But Maduro is bent on using his power as a dictator to silence his opponents in an effort to quell any future uprisings and protests which he claimed are illegal.
However, experts from outside and within the region have stated that US sanctions could further hurt the already delicate situation and thus disrupt production of oil in Venezuela which could have a spillover effect on the global production of oil. They assert that the sanctions would simply bolster claims by Maduro – who has a strong hold on all of Venezuela’s key institutions -that the protests by the opposition are being orchestrated by the US.
The experts also claimed that the threatened military action by the Trump administration could further advance Maduro’s claims that the US is interfering in Venezuela’s internal affairs with its practice of “gunboat diplomacy.”
However, the US is not alone in its condemnation of the election in Venezuela. Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, Panama and Paraguay and several other countries, including the CARICOM states, have not recognized the elections, whereas, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Cuba and Russia did.
Russia, in a thinly-veiled warning to the US and other countries who supported economic sanctions against the Maduro regime, said that they should display restraint and abandon such destructive plans. No country should condone the dismantling of the democratic process and values against the will of the people.

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