BORDER SECURITY AND OIL WAR IN THE LATIN AMERICAN /CARIBBEAN REGION: A CASE STUDY OF THE GUYANA/VENEZUELA DISPUTE.

Abstract

This article explores the recent developments in the ongoing dispute between Guyana and Venezuela   which   has intensified as a result of the Venezuelan contention that the Arbitral Award of 1899 about the frontier between   then British Guiana and Venezuela is null and void.  The Essequibo region is a disputed territory of   61,650 square miles (159,500 km² )west of the Essequibo River. It is claimed by both Guyana and Venezuela, but it has been administered and controlled by Guyana since the 1899 Paris Arbitral Award. The boundary dispute was inherited from the colonial powers (Spain in the case of Venezuela, and the Netherlands and the United Kingdom in the case of Guyana) and has been complicated by the independence of Guyana from the United Kingdom in 1966.The author analyses the impact of this dispute and draws attention to the disregard of international law and to the infringement of territorial sovereignty and integrity by one state on another. The purpose of the paper is to chronicle the facts and circumstances relating to this dispute with the specific intent of examining why Venezuela engaged in actions contrary to the ICJ ruling of December 1,2023 and what are some of the possible responses to these actions taken by the current Venezuelan government. Data for this paper was collected from interviews and discussions with several persons including members of the Guyanese Defense Force, academia, government officials from Guyana, Venezuelans living in Trinidad and Tobago and from the proceedings from a Conference entitled A Public Awareness Program: The Venezuela –Guyana Dispute held in Georgetown Guyana, on November 28, 2023, in which senior members of the Guyanese government participated. As of the time of writing (December 12  ,2023) Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro on December 6,2023 called for a bill to create a “Guyana Esequiba” province and ordered Venezuelan companies to prepare to enter the territory to explore for fossil fuels and minerals “immediately”. The move has escalated tensions over the disputed oil-rich territory and Maduro said he will proceed “to grant operating licenses for the exploration and exploitation of oil, gas and mines in the entire area of our Essequibo”. With his demand  

that  Guyanese companies working in the territory leave within three months, the United States   has already responded by strengthening its military presence in Guyana. In response as well,  Guyanese President Irfaan Ali rejected the measures as a “direct threat” against his country and  has threatened to take the case to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).It seems more than likely that other players such as the Unites States, Brazil, China and Russia may sooner or later get involved in this dispute.

Key words: Venezuela, Guyana, territorial sovereignty, International Court of Justice (ICJ)