The Guyana- Venezuela Dispute: Possible Implications for the Caribbean

By Livingston Smith, PhD

Professor, Department of the Social Sciences

University College of the Cayman Islands

In his recent book, Challenged Sovereignty: The Impact of Drugs, Crime, Terrorism, and Cyber Threats in the Caribbean, prominent expert on Caribbean Security, Ivelaw Griffith, turns the spotlight on these cross border ‘Problems Without Passports’ as former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, referred to them, are challenging the ability of politically independent states in the Caribbean to provide security to their people. The book is about how these PWP’s defy the desire of regional governments to protect their peoples and develop their societies within the context of them being sovereign states These are global problems affecting Caribbean states.

One can add to these threats mass migration of its skilled and educated citizenry, money laundering and geopolitical tensions arising from the power play of powerful countries that seek to have an important presence in the Caribbean. Caribbean countries are just now recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic which had a serious impact on tourism and have had to brace themselves against the rise in food and oil prices due to the Russia/ Ukraine war. There is also the urgent threat of environmental degradation.

As if these were not enough, there are also border disputes among countries such as between Venezuela and Guyana, Venezuela and Columbia, Guatemala and Belize, Surinam and Guyana, and France and Surinam. The recent presence of a British warship sent to Guyana as a show of support for this country in its dispute with Venezuela, must be concerning for every citizen of the Anglophone Caribbean and beyond who desire to see the region as a zone of peace.

The border dispute between Guyana and Venezuela is a long-standing one. Guyana is a country of 83,000 square miles, and Venezuela is claiming some two thirds of it. Events have been spiraling seemingly out of control since the Venezuelan government decided to have a referendum on the matter and reported after that some 95% of Venezuelans approved the referendum that claimed most of Guyana. The President of Venezuela, Nicolas Madura, has since ordered his country’s oil companies to issue extraction license in the Essequibo.

This is clearly a major development in the region, and we must applaud the work of Prime Minister Gonzalves of St. Vincent and efforts of CARICOM to maintain the Caribbean as a zone of peace.

The present territorial dispute goes back to centuries ago and is rooted in the colonial era. It is the contention of Venezuela that in 1841 when the British got British Guiana (Guyana) from the Netherlands, Venezuelan territorial integrity was compromised. They were deprived of the Essequibo and even though an international tribunal of Arbitration further decided on the border making the area British controlled to Guyanese controlled, the Venezuelan government is insisting that it was wrongfully deprived of this area which is some 159, 500 sq-km. Though the issue is before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Venezuela, which has the largest proven oil reserves in the world, has not agreed that this court has jurisdiction over this dispute. Once its ruling goes against the wishes of the Venezuelan government, they are likely to reject it. The court has advised Venezuela not to use force but to wait on its decision. The court is to address this case sometime this year. It is the riches of the Essequibo that is further driving these interests. The Essequibo region not only has oil, but gold, bauxite, and diamond. Guyana now boasts some eleven billion barrels of oil and one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

So where does this leave Guyana, a member of CARICOM and the Commonwealth? Understandably, the Guyanese President has shored up support from the US, the UK, and other main players. In the world of international politics, players define and defend their interests, and this is certainly the case in this situation. Even though an all-out war between these two countries is unlikely, Venezuela’s military capabilities far exceed that of Guyana. The matter must be dealt with by an international court and international law.

The Guyanese government also knows that the world is quietly shifting from oil and gas, but this will not happen overnight. The oil wealth must be used to change the lives of the Guyanese people and Caribbean countries are poised to benefit.