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๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐๐จ i๐ฌ n๐จ๐ญ ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐: ๐๐๐ง๐๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐โ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐๐ก๐๐๐ญ๐ซ๐ m๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ b๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ซ๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐๐
Dear Editor,
Delcy Rodrรญguezโs latest pronouncements on the Essequibo controversy are not merely diplomatic posturingโthey are calculated provocations dressed up as historical conviction.
To stand before an audience and declare Venezuelaโs claim to Guyanaโs sovereign territory is โirrefutable,โ while quite literally wearing that claim on a brooch across regional platforms, is not an innocent expression of heritage.
๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฟ๐ฒโ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ, ๐๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฑ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐น๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐.
The Essequibo is not Venezuelaโs to reclaim, reinterpret, or rebrand through symbolism. It is Guyanaโsโsettled by the 1899 Arbitral Award, upheld in international law, and now properly before the International Court of Justice for final affirmation. There is nothing ambiguous about that legal reality, regardless of how many times Caracas attempts to blur it with appeals to โhistory.โ
Rodrรญguezโs rhetorical flourishโquestioning whether Venezuelaโs history books should now be โburnedโโis a distraction. History, in this case, is not being erased. It is being tested against law, evidence, and binding international processes.
And that is precisely where Venezuelaโs claim continues to falter.
More troubling, however, is the strategic use of regional diplomacy as a stage for this narrative. By wearing a map that absorbs Essequibo into Venezuela during official visits to CARICOM states, Rodrรญguez is not simply making a personal statementโshe is attempting to manufacture a sense of quiet acceptance.
President Irfaan Ali is therefore correct to sound the alarm.
CARICOM cannot afford to treat such acts as harmless symbolism. In geopolitics, symbols are signalsโand Venezuelaโs signals are unmistakable. They are designed to probe the regionโs resolve, to test whether silence might be mistaken for consent, and to incrementally legitimise a claim that remains legally baseless.
Yvรกn Gilโs dismissal of Guyanaโs concerns as โdramaโ only reinforces this pattern of deflection. When challenged on substance, Caracas retreats into mockery and nationalist slogans. โVenezuelaโs sun rises in the Essequibo,โ he proclaimsโan evocative phrase, but one that carries no weight in a court of law.
This is not a cultural disagreement. It is a territorial controversy with serious implications for sovereignty, regional stability, and international order.
And it is unfolding at a time when the geopolitical temperature of the Caribbean is already rising. With increased U.S. military presence in the region and explicit warnings against Venezuelan aggression, the margin for miscalculation is narrowing. Reckless rhetoric, even when cloaked in symbolism, carries consequences.
Rodrรญguezโs attempt to reassert Venezuelaโs claim while simultaneously engaging the international community on more cooperative terms reveals a contradiction at the heart of Caracasโ current posture. One cannot speak the language of diplomacy while performing acts of quiet annexationโwhether through maps, legislation, or symbolic display.
Guyana, for its part, must remain steady but unyielding. The strength of its position lies not in spectacle, but in law. The ICJ process is the appropriate arena for resolution, and every effort must be made to ensure that it is respected, untainted by political theatrics or regional ambiguity.
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ถ๐.
CARICOM must move beyond statements of support and ensure that its platforms are not exploitedโeven inadvertentlyโto advance a member stateโs territorial claim against another. Neutrality, in this context, risks being interpreted as tolerance.
The line must be clearly drawn.
Because if a brooch today is dismissed as a harmless expression, tomorrow it becomes a precedent. And in territorial disputes, precedentโno matter how smallโcan be dangerously consequential.
๐๐๐๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ผ ๐ถ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐๐บ๐ฏ๐ผ๐น. ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฑ. ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐น๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ป ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐น๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐น ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฏ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎโ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐.
๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐ป๐ผ ๐ฎ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐.
Sincerely,
Hemdutt Kumar
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