By Nadeska Noriega- If we built a puzzle with the political map of South America, we would face some difficulties with the pieces of Venezuela and Guyana. Indeed, the Bolivarian Republic based in Caracas and the Federative Republic operating in Georgetown are neighboring countries, but their respective official maps don’t line up. Between them lies a wild but highly coveted territory they both claim: the area known as the Essequibo Region or the Guayana Esequiba (in Spanish).
Venezuela and Guyana both fly the flags of property and sovereignty of this 16,000-square kilometer territory. This area, larger than countries such as England, Cuba, or Greece, is home to tropical rainforests; navigable rivers; agricultural and fishing resources; gold, copper, and iron reserves; as well as natural gas, oil, and uranium deposits.
The territorial dispute has been going on for almost two centuries. However, the claims reemerged a decade ago, with the discovery of oil and gas fields. Recently, the government of Guyana stoked the fire when it authorized six foreign companies (including the American company Exxon Mobil) to conduct hydrocarbons exploration in territorial waters, which, according to Caracas, are part of the area in dispute. Diplomatic differences intensified in 2023, when the government of Nicolás Maduro set forth on a more direct claim path. It held a consultative referendum and passed a law declaring the Essequibo Region under Venezuelan sovereignty.
The issue is multidimensional. In the words of Venezuelan internationalist, Betsabé Molina, who has spent at least 25 years studying the Guyana-Venezuela territorial dispute, “for Nicolás Maduro and most of the team in the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PSUV (United Socialist Party of Venezuela), the situation with the Essequibo Region is a priority due to three fundamental reasons: there are riches (not only in oil but in natural gas) that could positively impact Venezuelan economy; geopolitical control is essential, because of Guyana’s close relationship with the United States; and lastly, because this topic sparks unity: Venezuelans regard the Essequibo Region as their own, so many forget their hardships and adhere to this fight, focusing on this historical vindication.”
Molina illustrates a topic that has been formally studied, at least in its economic impact. According to research by the FACES (Department of Economic and Social Sciences) at Universidad Central de Venezuela, whichever party gets sovereignty of the Essequibo Region would hit the jackpot (quite literally). Rare earth elements, gold, thorium, lithium, coltan, silicon, bauxite, copper, iron, diamonds, and manganese, to name a few, are found in the territory.
Data reports that diamond reserves in the Essequibo Region could be valued somewhere between one and five billion dollars, while gold reserves range between 35 and 60 billion dollars. It also has fields worth 11 billion dollars in its territorial waters.
Along with the aforementioned, the dispute is also rooted in the political aspect. “Nicolás Maduro pokes at the conflict in the Essequibo Region to gain legitimacy via fake patriotism. Venezuelans aged 40 and above grew up with a map including the Essequibo Region marked with red lines, it was the disputed territory. That explains why Venezuela’s claim touches people and brings them together. Following the rupture of the constitutional order in 2024, finding a cohesive topic is pressing, and the claim to the Essequibo Region is ideal,” adds historian Marco Álvarez.
Molina and Álvarez agree that political discourses aim at strengthening “patriotism”, but at the same time, build a scenario to consolidate the narrative of the Venezuelan proprietorship over the territory, which in practice, is managed by the Guayanese State. That discourse led the Venezuelan government to include the Essequibo Region in the election of representatives and governors in the parliamentary and regional elections of May 25.
The political nature also permeates the confrontational stances of Maduro, which have been supported by the President of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, the Minister of Defense la Defensa, Vladimir Padrino López, and the Ministry of Interior, Justice and Peace, Diosdado Cabello. In the meantime, the stance of [President] of Guyana, Irfaan Ali, remains unscathed: the territorial dispute over the Essequibo Region has been discussed and his country is the victim of a flagrant violation of its State sovereignty.
[Click on link below to view Bridge Opening]
Venezuelan authorities built a bridge over the Cuyuní River in the Essequibo Region, the event has been deemed as an “attack” by its Guyanese peers (Video of the Ministry of Defense – Globovisión.)
Consequently, the Vice-President of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo, declared in a press statement held on March 22 in Georgetown that “matters related with the Venezuelan aggression against our country and its threats to our territorial integrity and sovereignty are being addressed by the top level of the government, every day, we are working with global partners to guarantee that Venezuelan aggressions don’t remain unanswered.” This amidst the tension resulting from three incidents on the border: the election of representatives of the Essequibo Region in Venezuela, the incursion of a Navy ship into territorial waters of Guyana, and a shootout against six Guayanese soldiers.
Governing from Tumeremo
According to the executive branch of Venezuela, on May 25, the constituents of what they call Guayana Esequiba will be able to elect a governor and eight representatives to seat in the National Assembly of Venezuela. A political move, since the territory is in the hands of Guayanese authorities.
Guyana didn’t remain quiet and asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to “urgently” issue cautionary measures demanding Caracas “to refrain from having elections anywhere in the Guayanese territory” and “to abstain from any actions intending to annex” the disputed territory, including a takeover the Guyana Esequiba as part of Venezuela.
The projected elections cast many doubts. “It is unclear which will be the voter registration used by the CNE (Consejo Nacional Electoral) for the Guayana Esequiba. Or where the voting centers will be located, since Venezuela has no control of the land it is disputing. Or where the seat of the regional government will be located for the Guayana Esequiba. It is unclear who will vote in this election,” explains electoral specialist Eugenio Martínez, director of the NGO Votoscopio.
Around 125,000 people live In the Essequibo Region. At least three quarters have Guayanese nationality. In December 2023, Maduro gave the instruction to open an office of the SAIME (Servicio Autónomo de Identificación Migración y Extranjería) in Tumeremo, Bolívar state. Since then, locals have been able to process the Venezuelan identity card in Tumeremo (90 kilometers away from the border). This town has become the de facto capital city of the state of Guayana Esequiba.
In the words of the historian and professor at Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV), José Betancourt, “the impact of the election is completely symbolic, it has the simple objective of causing trouble and uncertainty to Guyana. The truth is that Tumeremo (the capital of the municipality of Sifontes, in the state of Bolívar) will be the place of government, and decisions will be merely administrative.”
According to other specialists, similar situations have taken place throughout history in countries of Europe and Asia. “It has happened in countries involved in border conflicts, which appeal to the remedy of creating parallel administrative regions, even outside the territories in dispute they are claiming, or near it, to demand some kind of sovereignty or legitimacy. That has happened before. And given the current international climate, it might be a strategy of the Venezuelan State,” adds political scientist Guillermo Tell Aveledo.
For its part, the government at Georgetown has warned that any Guayanese or resident in the country who supports the election planned by Venezuela to elect a governor for the disputed Essequibo Region will be accused of treason. “If a Guayanese is elected governor of the Essequibo Region, he or she will be accused of treason and imprisoned; each and every one. Supporters as well,” the Minister of the Interior, Robeson Benn, declared in a press conference in mid March.
Diosdado Cabello responded: “Elections will be held on May 25, we’ll have an election on our Guayana Esequiba (…). They’ll see what they do with that, but we’ll push forward because that territory is ours.”
The Caribbean Ukraine
The temperature has been rising. Since March, Nicolás Maduro has been talking about the possibility of escalating the territorial dispute to a war. He has provocatively insisted on referring to President Irfaan Alí as the “Zelensky of the Caribbean”.
He started doing it after the blunder that took place in the disputed territorial waters. Guyana’s version claims that a Venezuelan Coast Guard patrol entered Guayanese waters, approaching a ship in an offshore oil block. “During that operation, the Venezuelan ship approached several assets in our exclusive waters, including the FPSO Prosperity,” Alí stated.
Maduro immediately responded. “(Oil exploitation) is absolutely illegal and Venezuela rejects it, denounces it, and is planning on taking all possible actions to stop these illegal actions by ExxonMobil and the Guyanese government. Guyana is illegally allocating territorial waters pending an international delimitation to oil exploitation activities,” the Venezuelan ruler said.
Maduro’s words were accompanied by a statement of the Ministry of Defense. The document asserts that, using satellite images, “we verified the presence of 28 drilling and tanker ships in the disputed area, in flagrant violation of international law and with the consent of the government of Guyana, conducting exploitation and trade activities of hydrocarbons.” “Hence, the Zelenski of the Caribbean, Mr. Irfaan, president of Guyana, has to rectify immediately and stop agitating Venezuela, stop violating international law, and have a face-to-face conversation with me. Or is he afraid?,” added Maduro.
The OAS (Organization of American States) condemned the Venezuelan incursion into the “internationally acknowledged maritime territory of Guyana,” while the WHA (Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs) warned that the incident was a “blatant violation” of that country’s maritime territory.
Maduro has insisted that Guyana’s refusal to dialogue, plus the U.S. and international organizations’ intervention “will lead to armed conflict.” However, analysts dismiss it. “It is not convenient for them to engage in war. Neither Guyana, based on its growth perspective, nor Venezuela, due to its scant support. It’s one thing to face an English colony, but nowadays, Guyana is a Caribbean nation, so it would be hard to find allies in Latin America for a war strategy,” adds internationalist Luis Daniel Álvarez, professor at Universidad Metropolitana en Caracas.
An analysis of its possible alliances doesn’t reflect well on Venezuela. As explained by Guillermo Tell Aveledo, “large superpowers, the United States and China, seem to be on Guyana’s side, whereas Russia hasn’t expressed its opinion. It can be assumed that Russia will follow a similar argument than the one it applies with countries it is disputing, such as Ukraine. It could support an eventual Venezuelan war, but it is a distant scenario. In terms of Latin American support, Venezuela would not have it. It is not a struggle between an independent nation and an European empire, since Guyana has been an independent country for decades, and perhaps the Inter-American community will not fall for the legacy of colonialism to support Venezuela’s endeavor.”
For the time being, there is no easy way out to settle the differences over the Essequibo Region. Venezuela and Guyana haven’t agreed on the arbitrators nor on how to resolve this territorial dispute. The issue goes back to the time of independence (when in 1814, Spain sold the territory to the British Empire, even though it wasn’t Spain’s to sell); then in 1899 the Paris Arbitral Award favored London over Caracas; and is currently being dealt with by the ICJ, whose jurisdiction is not acknowledged by the Venezuelan government.
Only recently did this affair blow up to its current scale. Which is even more ironic considering that Maduro’s mentor, the late Hugo Chávez, always kept amicable relations with Guyana. The commander needed its neighboring country for his project of integration among Caribbean nations (CARICOM), and he used to say that borders were an imposition of imperialism to divide populations in the underdeveloped world. Things change when there are oil and natural resources involved. (connectas)
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About the author
Nadeska Noriega Only recently did this affair blow up to its current scale. Which is even more ironic considering that Maduro’s mentor, the late Hugo Chávez, always kept amicable relations with Guyana. The commander needed its neighboring country for his project of integration among Caribbean nations (CARICOM), and he used to say that borders were an imposition of imperialism to divide populations in the underdeveloped world. Things change when there are oil and natural resources involved.
