Venezuela is exploiting Biden’s weakness in its threatened invasion of Guyana

Dec 13, 2023 Letters

Dear Editor,

In a staged referendum recently President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro “received approval” for his claim that Venezuela is the rightful owner of Essequibo. This is a claim without political or historic merit, the details of which have been discussed exhaustively in the Guyanese newspapers recently. Not content to subjugate and impoverish his own people, Venezuela’s dictator, President Nicolas Maduro is casting his covetous eyes farther afield: Guyana and its oil reserves.

Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves and therefore should be having a first world economy. Instead, after decades of socialism under Maduro and Hugo Chavez, Venezuela’s economy is in shambles – a basket case. Excessive government spending, inflation, corruption, and disastrous oil field maintenance is driving Maduro to dangerous international excesses resurrecting an old territorial dispute. Guyana, specifically the Essequibo region, is in his crosshairs.

The US is urged to step in as fortification against Maduro’s aggression. As such, it is heartening that Top US diplomat Blinken recently reaffirmed support for Guyana’s sovereignty against Venezuela’s threat. But that is not enough to stop Maduro.

US President Biden is considered by many, weak and vacillating. This perception is ostensibly driving Maduro’s recklessness. Biden is distracted in the Middle East, in Ukraine (his request for billions in Ukrainian aid is meeting resistance in Congress), his chaotic, some say spineless, abandonment of Afghanistan to the Taliban is stiff fresh, and his recent scrambling to restore the flawed Iran nuclear deal unfreezing billions of dollars for Iran (of significant note: Iran and Venezuela are allies). Maduro has surely noticed Iran’s proxy, Hamas launching genocidal goal in Israel while Iran’s proxies fire missiles, explosive-laden drones, and rockets at U.S. warships and bases, while Biden’s fiddles.

The dictator senses that he can threaten without significant risk of a strong, if any, US response.

The Biden Administration should show some backbone and counter its staunch enemy – Iran’s – outreach to Venezuela. Iran/Venezuelan alliance is partly driven by Iran’s economic interests and partly by a desire to gain a foothold in “America’s backyard,” – ominous for the US – as Iran is shoring up ties in Latin America and pushing the idea of a military presence in Venezuela’s waters.

If the US allows Maduro to get his way, this vacillation will undermine the security and democratic stability of the Americas, and encourage China and Russia to pursue their international aggressions more forcefully and would embolden Iran further. The world would be more dangerous. The US by helping Guyana against Venezuela undercuts these threats, particularly the Iranian’s.

Further, if Maduro’s annexation of the Essequibo is not stopped, this will signal catastrophe for the US’s western hemispheric geopolitical plans of increasing its economic and political leverage in Latin America. In 2018, commander of United States Southern Command Laura Richardson had pointed out: “As the U.S. continues to require more petroleum and gas, Latin America is becoming a global energy leader with its large oil reserves and oil and gas production and supplies.”

The US should forcefully remind Maduro that Venezuela enthusiastically submitted to US/Britain arbitration of 1889 wherein the commission decided in favour or Guyana and directed that the border follow the Schomburgk Line (that defines Guyana’s current western boundary). The US should further encourage its South American ally Colombia and friends such as Brazil and Argentina to join the US in this warning: any move on Guyana would meet severe economic and possible military repercussions.

Sincerely,

Dev Persaud

Dev Persaud, Guyana, invasion, Nicolás Maduro, threatened

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