Venezuela Condemns US SOUTHCOM and Guyana’s Provocations on Essequibo

Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—The foreign minister of Venezuela, Yván Gil, has published a statement from the government of Venezuela condemning the recent joint actions conducted between the Southern Command of the US empire (SOUTHCOM) and the government of Guyana, “which threaten regional stability and undermine the principles of international law, and constitute a threat to regional peace, contrary to the spirit of the Geneva Agreement of 1966.”

In the statement, posted this Tuesday, December 3, Venezuela describes as unacceptable the consolidation of military installations in Guyana, “including the military use of the Brigadier Gary Beaton airfield located in the Essequibo territory,” that Venezuela claims as its own due to historical deeds in its possession.

Despite the solid case and evidence Venezuela holds against this territorial dispossession, it agreed to settle the dispute via a mutually agreed diplomatic negotiation, stipulated in the 1966 Geneva Agreement, which was signed by Guyanese authorities. The former British colony violated this agreement when it unilaterally submitted the territorial dispute to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Below, you can read the full statement:

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela categorically and strongly rejects the recent joint actions between the United States Southern Command and the government of Guyana, which threaten regional stability and undermine the principles of international law, and constitute a threat to regional peace, contrary to the spirit of the Geneva Agreement of 1966.

The opening of military installations of the US Southern Command in Guyana, including the military use of the Brigadier Gary Beaton Airfield located in the Essequibo territory, are unacceptable and represent a new provocation by the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, to the detriment of the spirit of peace that governed the Argyle Agreement, signed with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela [in 2023].

Venezuela believes that the warlike agenda of the US administration has no place in Our America, and even less so in the Guayana Esequiba. The unacceptable expansion of naval stations and airports for military use is evidence of its effort to hinder the peaceful and negotiated resolution of the territorial dispute, thus violating the legitimate historical rights of our country over the Guayana Esequiba.

The Bolivarian government of Venezuela, within the framework of the recognition of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, reaffirms its unrestricted commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes. In this regard, we call on Guyana to immediately cease these actions contrary to mutual understanding and the international legal framework.

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ratifies its will to defend, based on the mandate given by the people in the referendum of December 3, 2023, the sovereign rights of the Venezuelan people over Guayana Esequiba through peaceful and diplomatic means, as it has historically done. No unilateral or external action will be able to undermine our determination to preserve the territorial integrity and dignity of our nation.

Caracas, December 3, 2024