I wish to make it clear that The Commonwealth of The Bahamas supports the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, and its sovereignty and territorial integrity, as was settled in accordance with the 1899 arbitral award. These borders have defined the territory of Guyana since its independence in 1966.
I am disheartened that after all that CARICOM has done to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela during a most trying economic and political period in its history that Venezuela should now seek to annex territory in a CARICOM state.
The Bahamas demands that Venezuela respect the settled borders and abide by the 1 December 2023 ruling of the International Court of Justice, and to refrain from any actions that would disturb these existing borders.
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