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Though Guyana does not believe Nicolas Maduro will order an invasion of Guyana following Sunday’s referendum, Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo says Guyana is prepared for the worst, building defence cooperation with its allies.

Venezuela held a symbolic referendum on Sunday as the Maduro government sought public backing for its longstanding claim for Essequibo, a region rich in gold and diamonds and giant oil reserves offshore. International news reports pointed to a low voter turnout and the Venezuelan election body claimed a 50% turnout of voters.

Dr Jagdeo believes the numbers provided are fake and the result was “disastrous” for Maduro’s campaign of creating a Venezuelan state out of the Essequibo region and issuing citizenship to its inhabitants.

According to Jagdeo, Maduro has assured world leaders that he will not invade Guyana, but the government is guarded against such assurances and will not take chances.

“That is why we have been working with our partners to boost defence cooperation.

“It means that we are engaging, we are coordinating efforts (with) those who are engaged with us, working to build our capacity, not just planning capability, but to look at protecting our territorial integrity,” Dr Jagdeo told the News Room in Dubai where he is attending the United Nations Climate Summit.

The Venezuelan government has said it will enforce the results of the referendum and so Dr Jagdeo says Guyana is “prepared for any eventuality.”

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) which is hearing Guyana’s case for a legally, binding settlement of the border controversy, Friday ordered that Venezuela shall refrain from seeking to seize control of the Essequibo.

The boundary between Guyana and Venezuela was determined by an arbitration tribunal 124 years ago, but Venezuela rejected the award in 1962, saying it was flawed. A mechanism was set up to solve the controversy and after decades of talks failed, the United Nations Secretary General referred the matter to the ICJ, which is the UN’s principal judicial organ. The court has determined it can hear and decide on the case, but Venezuela put forward the referendum before the Court can rule.

Guyana sought protection and the Court ruled Friday that the Essequibo has been recognised as Guyanese territory and has been governed by Guyana since the 1899 award of the arbitration tribunal and Venezuela should refrain from interrupting Guyanese sovereignty of the territory.

If Venezuela chooses to ignore the ruling of the Court, Dr Jagdeo says, Guyana will not “just sit down and accept it”

“…and therefore defence cooperation means preparing for the worst outcome,” Dr Jagdeo declared.

And he is urging Guyanese not to be “caught up” in “incessant, almost traumatic experience of worrying unnecessarily” and sharing things that are not true.

He referred to a viral video circulating of a Venezuelan flag being raised, with a claim of it being in Guyanese territory.

“Rest assured we are doing all necessary to keep our borders safe and we will take whatever steps necessary to do so.

“And Venezuela will not succeed, will not succeed on this issue, will not!”

He said while the government is dealing with the border controversy, it remains focused on the development agenda.

“We are focused on exercising sovereignty over our resources and utilizing those resources, in sovereign Guyanese territory, all 83, 000 square miles, and utilizing those resources in favour and to the benefit of all our people.

“We have not changed or slackened the pace on any of our development programmes.

“So the work of government continues.”

International Court of Justice on Friday ordered Venezuela not to take any action that would alter Guyana’s control over Essequibo, but the judges did not specifically ban officials from carrying out Sunday’s five-question referendum. Guyana had asked the court to order Venezuela to halt parts of the vote.

Although the practical and legal implications of the referendum remain unclear, in comments explaining Friday’s verdict, international court president Joan E. Donoghue said statements from Venezuela’s government suggest it “is taking steps with a view toward acquiring control over and administering the territory in dispute.”

“Furthermore, Venezuelan military officials announced that Venezuela is taking concrete measures to build an airstrip to serve as a ‘logistical support point for the integral development of the Essequibo,’” she said.

The 61,600-square-mile (159,500-square-kilometer) territory accounts for two-thirds of Guyana and also borders Brazil, whose Defense Ministry earlier this week in a statement said it has “intensified its defense actions” and boosted its military presence in the region as a result of the dispute.

Essequibo is larger than Greece and rich in minerals. It also gives access to an area of the Atlantic where energy giant ExxonMobil discovered oil in commercial quantities in 2015, drawing the attention of Maduro’s government.

Venezuela’s government promoted the referendum for weeks, framing participation as an act of patriotism and often conflating it with a show of support for Maduro. The country has always considered Essequibo as its own because the region was within its boundaries during the Spanish colonial period, and it has long disputed the border decided by international arbitrators in 1899 when Guyana was still a British colony.

That boundary was decided by arbitrators from Britain, Russia and the United States. The U.S. represented Venezuela on the panel in part because the Venezuelan government had broken off diplomatic relations with Britain.

Venezuelan officials contend that Americans and Europeans conspired to cheat their country out of the land and argue that a 1966 agreement to resolve the dispute effectively nullified the original arbitration.

Guyana, the only English-speaking country in South America, maintains the initial accord is legal and binding and asked the International Court of Justice in 2018 to rule it as such, but a decision is years away.

Voters on Sunday had to answer whether they “agree to reject by all means, in accordance with the law,” the 1899 boundary and whether they support the 1966 agreement “as the only valid legal instrument” to reach a solution.

Maduro threw the full weight of his government into the effort. Essequibo-themed music, nationally televised history lessons, murals, rallies and social media content helped the government to divert people’s attention from pressing matters, including increasing pressure from the U.S. government on Maduro to release political prisoners and wrongfully detained Americans as well as to guarantee free and fair conditions in next year’s presidential election.

In a tour of Caracas voting centers by The Associated Press, lines of about 30 people could be seen at some of them, while at others, voters did not have to wait at all to cast their ballots. That contrasts with other electoral processes when hundreds of people gathered outside voting centers from the start.

The activity also paled in comparison with the hours-long lines that formed outside polls during the presidential primary held by a faction of the opposition in October without assistance from the National Electoral Council.

More than 2.4 million people participated in the primary, a number that government officials declared mathematically impossible given the number of available voting centers and the time it takes a person to cast a paper ballot. State media attributed the lack of wait times Sunday to the fast speed at which people were casting their electronic ballots.

Maduro told supporters celebrating the results that it only took him 15 seconds to vote early Sunday.

Ángela Albornoz, a grassroots organizer for the ruling party, told the AP she estimated that between 23% and 24% of the voters assigned to her voting center cast ballots Sunday. Albornoz, 62, said that figure was below her expectations for an event meant to bring together all Venezuelans “regardless of politics.”

Guyana President Mohamed Irfaan Ali on Sunday told Guyanese his government is working continuously to ensure the country’s borders “remain intact” and said people have “nothing to fear over the next number of hours, days, months ahead.”

“I want to advise Venezuela that this is an opportunity for them to show maturity, an opportunity for them to show responsibility, and we call upon them once more join us in … allowing the rule of law to work and to determine the outcome of this controversy,” Ali said.

fareeza@newsroom.gy 

Thousands of Guyanese gathered at the National Stadium at Providence, East Bank Demerara on Sunday night to witness a ‘Night of Patriotic Reflection’.

The event featured songs, dancing and poetry from talented Guyanese artistes as the nation banded together to rebuke Venezuela’s illegal attempts to seize two-thirds of the country’s territory.

Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, President Dr Irfaan Ali addressed the gathering and had a message for the people of Venezuela, their President, Nicolas Maduro and Vice President, Delcy Rodriguez. 

“Nothing you say, no amount of propaganda or lies, would drive fear in my heart or in the heart of any Guyanese. You will not disrupt our lives,” the Head of State said to resounding applause. 

He urged the Spanish leader to honour last Friday’s ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which stated that  the Essequibo region has been governed by Guyana for the past 124 years and Venezuela “shall” refrain from any action that would “modify” or change this.

“Today, you have a responsibility; you can honour the order of the ICJ, you can show that you care about this region, that you care about your people, that you care about peace, and that you are about peace, by honouring the orders of the ICJ.

“And those orders make it very clear – you can take no action that would change the status quo as it is today. And that status quo is that the Essequibo belongs to Guyana and Essequibo is administered by Guyana,” the Guyanese Head of State said to Maduro.

Thousands of Guyanese at the ‘Night of Patriotic Reflection’ (Photo: News Room/Shaconeil Burnette/December 3, 2023)

He continued, “Of course, you can reject logic, you can reject facts, you can reject history, you can reject honesty, and you can reject the orders of the Court but where would that put your people and your country?

“Unless your country and your people are not important to you. Unless you believe you’re superior to your country and your people.”

Noting that Guyana’s first line of defence is diplomacy, the Head of State reiterated that the country will not be caught off-guard if the Maduro Government decides to take action following its December 3 sham referendum.

“We’re not closing any relationship with the people of Venezuela, but let me be very clear, we’re not going to be trampled upon. We’re not going to be caught off-guard. 

“We will do everything within the confines of international law and human dignity to protect what is ours, to protect our borders, to protect the Essequibo,” President Ali assured Guyanese.

He sought to allay the fears of many citizens and promised that he would be on the front lines.

Thousands of Guyanese at the ‘Night of Patriotic Reflection’ (Photo: News Room/Shaconeil Burnette/December 3, 2023)

“I want every Guyanese to know, regardless of the circumstances, how difficult it is, how easy it is, how burdensome it is, how dangerous it is, you will never see me away from you. I will be with you at the front, by your side, every single time, every single moment. 

“You can be assured of that. Do not worry about this. I will be at the front of any circumstance that requires my leadership for Guyana, and the people of Guyana. Make no mistake of this,” he said.

‘Do not point guns at us’

Speaking directly to Venezuelans, the Head of State reminded them of their responsibility to the next generation.

Guyana is home to thousands of Venezuelan migrants who fled their country due to severe economic hardships, and taking this into consideration, President Ali urged them not to be violent in their endeavours.

“You are our neighbours, our friends, our brothers and sisters; you have our love, do not misplace our love; you have our open arms, do not destroy those arms. You have a responsibility to the next generation of Venezuelans to ensure that they live in dignity, they live in prosperity and in honour and that should be your focus. 

One of the many performances at the event (Photo: News Room/Shaconeil Burnette/December 3, 2023)

“We will cheer you on as you work for the advancement of your people. And so too, we ask you not to point guns at us as we work for the advancement of every Guyanese,” President Ali said.

Highlighting that Guyana is a peaceful country, the Head of State assured that his government would do nothing to disrupt the peace within the region.

But he reminded that “Guyana will do everything if anyone tries to disrupt the peace we enjoy here.”