Venezuela is releasing Guyanese fishermen – expected to arrive Friday in Georgetown
the detained Guyanese fishing Vessels released yesterday
Minister for Foreign Affairs Hugh Todd
Kaieteur News – The 12 Guyanese fishermen detained by the Venezuelan army on January 21, along with their respective fishing vessels, Sea Wolf and Lady Nayera, will finally return home.
This is according to Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd, who told Kaieteur News last night that the men and their ships had been released earlier in the day.
He revealed that the men will leave Port Guiria, Venezuela, this morning and are due to arrive in Georgetown on Friday.
The fishermen’s release comes after Guyana with the support of the international community that included Caricom, the American Provincial Organization (OAS), Canada, among others, called for their immediate release.
Venezuela’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jorge Arreaza
Venezuela Navy Commando Hugo Chavez GC 24 had illegally detained the men in Guyana waters that are part of the Essequibo territory that Venezuela wants to claim.
The men at the time were fishing in Guyana’s Unique Economic Zone (EEZ) just off the coast of Waini Point.
The Government of Guyana had promised that it would take a diplomatic route to discuss the immediate release of the trapped fishermen; on January 26 that Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza had promised to follow the crew’s early release. It took Arreaza seven days to finally keep his word by releasing the men his country had illegally detained.
The detention of the fishermen and their vessels came after attacks and declarations were made by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his regime over the territorial dispute over the Essequibo, Guyana’s largest county.
The matter has been brought before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), where it ruled on December 18, 2020 that it had jurisdiction to resolve the matter. Guyana’s argument is that he had sovereign rights over the coast and land territory because he was awarded the British Guiana at the time in the 1899 Arbitration Award.
Since the ruling, Maduro has been on the offensive on all fronts. His move of aggressive behavior has since been condemned by the international community and Guyana who called on him to obey the rule of law.