For months now, Venezuela and its neighbor Guyana have been arguing over Essequibo, a territory rich in natural resources, with the United Kingdom as a third player. Why such tensions? And why is Caracas massing troops at the border? We explain everything to you here.
What is Essequibo?
The Essequibo, a territory of 160,000 km 2 rich in oil and natural resources, is administered by Georgetown – therefore Guyana – but is claimed by Venezuela.
Caracas in fact maintains that it is the Essequibo River which must be the natural border between the two countries, as in 1777 at the time of the Spanish Empire. For its part, Guyana argues that the border in force today, dating from the English colonial era and further west, was ratified in 1899 by an arbitration court in Paris.
About 125,000 people, or a fifth of Guyana’s population, live in Essequibo, which covers two-thirds of the country’s land area.
Where do the current tensions come from?
The crisis arose in particular after the launch, last September, of oil calls for tenders carried out by Guyana, while new deposits were discovered in the region. Then at the beginning of December, voters in Venezuela were asked to decide on a hypothetical integration into their country of Essequibo, during a consultative referendum organized by Caracas. The vote concluded with a yes victory of more than 95%.
Guyanese President Irfaan Ali and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro then met on December 14 in a summit that helped reduce tension, with a commitment not to use force. But the two countries still stick to their positions.
Why did Caracas send troops to the border?
Nicolas Maduro launched military exercises on the border with Guyana this Thursday. A phase which brings together some 5,682 soldiers and F-16 (American) and Sukhoi (Russian) fighter planes, according to the Venezuelan president. This is a “joint action of a defensive nature, in response to the provocation and threat of the United Kingdom against the peace and sovereignty of our country,” declared Nicolas Maduro.
London has in fact sent a warship, the HMS Trent, In the region. Usually based in the Mediterranean, he was deployed in the Caribbean at the beginning of December to fight against drug trafficking.
What is the United Kingdom doing in this?
Guyana is a former colony of the British Empire, and remains a member of the Commonwealth to this day. It is in this context that London justified the sending of the ship last Sunday: “The HMS Trent will travel to Guyana, our regional ally and Commonwealth partner (…) for a series of engagements in the region,” indicated the British Ministry of Defense. The ship is due to arrive this Friday.
And the deployment of Venezuelan troops on the border is not to the United Kingdom’s liking: “The actions taken by Venezuela against Guyana are unjustified and should stop,” declared a spokesperson for the British government last night.
What does Georgetown say?
“We have no plans to take offensive measures against Venezuela (…) We do not intend to invade Venezuela. President Maduro knows this and should not worry,” said Guyanese Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo. And to specify that the arrival of the British patrol boat is part of “routine exercises planned for a long time”.
But Maduro is not losing his temper. His reaction ? “The threat from the decadent and rotten former empire of the United Kingdom is unacceptable.”