Not for expected, the news fell like a bomb throughout Venezuela, from the government to the opposition. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has unanimously rejected the theses of Caracas in its dispute over the territory of Essequibo, in the eastern part of the country. It is about 160,000 square kilometers to the west of the Essequibo River, plus the extremely rich oil reserves in the high seas.
Venezuela is considered the “indisputable historical heir”, despite the fact that today it represents 70% of the land territory of Guyana, a former British colony. “The truth accompanies us, the Essequibo is Venezuela. We will continue the tireless and firm fight to defend the territoriality of our dignified nation. The truth accompanies us,” cried Nicolás Maduro as soon as he learned of the decision.
The revolutionary leader will take advantage of the international setback to convene a national consultation on the Essequibo, as announced by Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, in an attempt to take advantage of nationalist sentiment. The opposition Unitary Platform invited the entire country “to unite in this cause.”
“The sun of Venezuela rises through the Essequibo!” the Venezuelan military shout when they are in formation in front of the authorities. Two different versions appear on Venezuelan maps: in the first, the disputed territory is part of the national territory like any of its 23 states; in the second, it appears scratched as a claim area.
“Why is Guyana doing this? It is the mercenary interests of the large transnational oil companies and the companies that are illegally exploiting that territory under concessions given to that nation,” Rodríguez attacked. The oil company ExxonMobil, accompanied by other European companies, commands the international consortium established in the South American country.
With just 700,000 inhabitants, tiny Guyana has become the object of global envy. Last year the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 62% and it is expected that until the end of the decade it will maintain an increase of 25% each year. In 2027 it will reach one million barrels per day, when Venezuela currently moves around 700,000.
The great miracle that has made Guyana the fastest growing country in the world when it was the second poorest country on the continent began to take shape with the discovery of ExxonMobil under the country’s waters in the Atlantic Ocean, a gigantic bag of black gold of 5,500 million barrels.
Until then, the demand for the Essequibo had disappeared from the revolutionary agenda by personal decision of Hugo Chávez. The Bolivarian leader chose to maintain his close relations with the Caribbean countries and with Cuba, Guyana’s historical allies, rather than suing for that territory.
Citizen Control for Security and the Armed Forces has warned about the statement made public by the government, in which it assures that “it will adopt all the measures at its disposal to defend its legitimate rights and territorial integrity.” The civil association wonders if this includes the use of force and if the government would use the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) “in war operations to exercise full sovereignty over the Essequibo and its maritime projection.”
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
