Latest update November 5th, 2024 1:00 AM
Maduro regime in border – PR offensive on Essequibo claims
Government Officials wearing caps with the phrase claiming the Essequibo during a meeting at San Martin, Venezuela, border with Guyana.
Kaieteur News – The Venezuelan president, Nicholas Maduro Morro, and his regime have started to proactively use public relations to put forward their position on claiming the Essequibo.
The Essequibo has been in a bitter territorial dispute between Guyana and Venezuela for a number of years now. The matter has been brought before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), where it ruled on December 18, 2020 that it has jurisdiction to resolve the issue. Guyana’s argument is that it has sovereign rights over the coast and land territory because it was awarded to the then British Guiana in the 1899 Arbitral Award.
In response to these recent developments, Maduro has since taken an aggressive approach on all fronts. Notably, one of his strategies is to use public relations to aggressively state his position on the Essequibo claims.
On Monday, a number of high ranking government officials of Venezuela along with commanders of the Venezuelan armed forces visited the island of Ankoko and the indigenous community of San Martin de Turumbang. Ankoko Island and San Martin are located just at the Guyana/Venezuela border at Eteringbang, Cuyuni River, Region Seven.
The Maduro Regime brought along a team of doctors, who provided medical care for the members of the Venezuelan Indigenous Community. They also shared out toys, food and other gifts to the community members.
However apart from the outreach, the government officials and army generals used the opportunity to inform the villagers, in a meeting, that as Venezuelans, they must fight with blood for the Essequibo territory.
One of officials swore by the late Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez Frias, and 19th century freedom fighter, Simon Bolivar that he will fight to conquer “La Essequiba” alongside Maduro.
It was also noted by Kaieteur News that the officials, who visited the area and conducted the meeting, wore caps with the phrase “La Essequiba Nuestra” (The Essequibo is ours) as they called on San Martin villagers to join the fight. They also shared flyers with maps depicting the Zona Reclamacion (the Essequibo zone that Venezuela is fighting to reclaim).
The Venezuelan Government officials’ visit to the border area was made after a sequence of aggressive statements made by Maduro himself and members of his regime.
The first being a tweet made last Thursday of vowing to reconquer the Essequibo and issuance of a presidential decree reinforcing the country’s claim to the territory in dispute. A few days later, the Venezuelan Vice President, Delcy Rodriguez, during a press conference, criticized the joint naval exercises carried out by the United States’ (US) Coast Guard and Coast Guard of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).
She said it was part of the US President, Donald Trump’s plan to provoke Venezuela. During that same press conference, Minister of Defence for the National Armed Forces of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Vladamir Padrino made some strong statements as well.
He said, “Our Bolivarian National Armed Forces will guard every one of the geographic spaces that make up our Venezuela, inch by inch.”
Padrino added too that “It has been ordered by instruction of the Commander in Chief, Nicolas Maduro, the constant patrolling of our legal waters, the permanent observation by air and sea on the Atlantic coast.”
Venezuela’s aggression against Guyana has since been condemned by President Irfaan Ali and Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon. Canada, Caricom and the US also denounced Venezuela’s actions and called for a peaceful resolution at the ICJ.
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