The United States and the protection of Guyana

Mar 13, 2026 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

---

(Kaieteur News) – Only days ago, the country was being reassured that tensions with Venezuela had eased. The President himself suggested that following recent developments in Venezuela there had been a noticeable softening of the rhetoric coming out of Caracas.

Well, that diplomatic intermission did not last very long. Reality has returned with a thud.

Reports now indicate that yesterday the Venezuelan government issued a statement rejecting Guyana’s decision to carry out 3D seismic data gathering in a 25,000-square-kilometre offshore area within Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in search of potential commercially viable oil and gas deposits.

In that statement Caracas complained that Guyana was engaging in what it described as unilateral exploration activities in maritime areas that Venezuela claims are still pending delimitation. The Venezuelan government declared: “Once again, Guyana reiterates its claims to carry out unilateral exploration activities in part of the maritime areas that are pending delimitation, in open violation of fundamental principles of international law.”

The statement went even further. Venezuela demanded that Guyana refrain from actions that could “create or aggravate differences” between the two countries and warned that it would not recognise any concession, licence or activity for the exploration or exploitation of natural resources granted by Guyana in what it described as “undelimited maritime areas.”

In other words, Venezuela is once again declaring that it will simply ignore Guyana’s lawful actions within its own waters. So much for the supposed softening of rhetoric. Guyana is conducting lawful economic activities in its own Exclusive Economic Zone. Yet Venezuela continues to behave as if it possesses the authority to dictate what Guyana can or cannot do in its own maritime territory.

This is not diplomacy. It is intimidation dressed up in legal language. But there is another lesson that Guyanese must draw from this latest episode. Only recently, defenders of the government were loudly insisting that Guyana had to tread carefully so as not to antagonise the United States. Their argument was simple: Guyana should avoid positions that might irritate Washington because, they suggested, our security and sovereignty depended heavily on American support in the face of Venezuelan aggression.

That argument has always been naïve. And today it looks even more foolish. Those who peddled that line should by now have realised a basic truth of international politics: countries act in their own interests, not ours. The United States has never been the guardian of Guyana’s territorial integrity. Indeed, history reminds us that it was the United States itself that played a central role in creating the present territorial controversy in the first place.

The romantic belief that Washington will ride to Guyana’s rescue whenever Caracas rattles its sabres is simply not grounded in reality. The facts speak for themselves. One of America’s largest oil companies, Chevron, is actively seeking to expand its petroleum operations in Venezuela. At the same time, that very same company is attempting to acquire Hess, which holds a significant stake in Guyana’s Stabroek Block.

The same American corporate interests are positioning themselves to benefit from oil production in both Guyana and Venezuela. When commercial interests of that magnitude are involved, do we seriously believe that Washington will sacrifice those interests in order to defend Guyana’s sovereignty? That would be wishful thinking of the highest order.

The cold truth is that if American strategic or commercial interests require accommodation with Venezuela, Guyana will not be the priority. This is not cynicism. It is realism. History has shown time and again that small countries which place their security entirely in the hands of great powers eventually discover that those powers have other priorities. That is why Guyana must be extremely careful about assuming that the United States will always stand as our shield against Venezuelan aggression.

Supportive statements and diplomatic gestures are one thing. Concrete protection is quite another. The Venezuelan statement issued yesterday should serve as a wake-up call. Caracas has not moderated its ambitions. It has not abandoned its claim. And it has certainly not accepted Guyana’s sovereign right to develop its natural resources.

The rhetoric has returned almost immediately. Which means the supposed lull in tensions was never a real change of heart — only a temporary pause. Guyana must therefore pursue its sovereignty, relying first and foremost on international law and its own diplomatic strength. But one illusion must now be permanently discarded. The comforting fantasy that the United States will always protect Guyana from Venezuela should be put to rest once and for all. Because when geopolitical interests collide, the harsh truth is this: They will sell us out faster than we can say “Venezuela.”

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

---

• Peeping Tom, Protection, United Statesand Guyana, Venezuela

---