Last updated on Saturday, 9 January 2021, 17:56 by Denis Chabrol
President Irfaan Ali on Saturday afternoon rejected Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro’s unilateral extension of his country’s maritime border with Venezuela to seize Atlantic waters off the Essequibo Region.
Dr. Ali called in the top official of the Venezuelan embassy in Georgetown on Saturday to call in and mentioned Guyana’s opposition to the “vexatious decree” by a Venezuelan President last Thursday seeking to claim exclusive sovereignty and sovereign rights in waters and the bed sea. near the coast of Guyana, west of the Essequibo Region.
“The Officer in Charge was told to convey to Venezuelan authorities in Caracas that Guyana, in accordance with international law, and in the assertion of its sovereignty and territorial integrity, completely rejects the decree issued by President Maduro,” Guyanese said the leader, He assured that the opposition would be involved in the defense of Guyana’s sovereignty.
In effect, President Maduro’s decree is part of the Stabroek Block granted to an American oil giant, ExxonMobil.
The President’s address came to the nation as the US Coast Guard and the Guyana Defense Force conducted six-nautical mile offshore movements to Guyana to counteract largely illegal and unregulated fishing.
The President called for regional and international unity against Venezuela’s acts that violate international law and amount to “legal nullity.” In the meantime, we warn the International Community, including our sister states in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and in America of the danger to international peace and security threatened by Venezuela’s decree last Thursday which violates international fundamental principles. law, ”he said.
The latest developments surrounding the Guyana-Venezuela border dispute come as the U.S. Southern Command Commander, Navy Admiral Craig Faller prepares to visit Guyana from January 11-13. “He will meet with government and defense leaders and discuss the bilateral security partnership between the United States and Guyana,” said the US Embassy in Georgetown.
The International Court of Justice has already ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear the merits of the Guyana case on the validity of the 1899 Arbitration Tribunal Award that settled the land border with Venezuela.