The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, announced the application of an action plan for the Essequibo area that his country claims. The president confirmed a military deployment near the conflict zone with Guyana, the beginning of oil and gas exploration, as well as the inclusion of the area on the national map. For its part, Georgetown described this position as “an imminent threat” to its nation and accused Caracas of not respecting the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ordered the Venezuelan Government to refrain from taking measures that aggravate the disagreement over the territory in dispute.
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Two days after the referendum on Essequibo, Venezuela ordered an action plan on the disputed area with Guyana. The Government of Nicolás Maduro announced, on the afternoon of Tuesday, December 5, that the Venezuelan Army will be deployed in “non-conflict” areas and that it will also grant oil exploitation licenses there.
At the moment, it has not yet announced a deployment to the area in dispute with Guyana, which the United Nations and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) had recognized as part of the latter. Maduro ordered the creation of a military division to serve the area in question, without announcing any armed incursion into the territory, since ordered the Armed Forces to settle in a town close to, but not on the border, with Essequiboat least on a “provisional” basis.
“Guyana must know that we fix this problem the easy way or we fix it,” said Maduro, relying on the will of the Venezuelans who last Sunday, December 3, voted in a referendum, which obtained 95% in favor of the deployment in the area. , which they have not controlled since 1899.
The debate is activated in the National Assembly and the approval of the Organic Law of Guayana Esequiba, as well as the implementation of the 5 decisions made by the People of Venezuela in each of its parts. Dialogue, free, democratic debate and consensus! pic.twitter.com/QJLrTVwbNC
— Nicolás Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) December 6, 2023
With the popular consultation, which had a participation of 10.4 million people, voters rejected the jurisdiction of the ICJ over the disagreement and supported the creation of an eventual State in the territory, which would be called Guayana Esequiba.
Last week, the ICJ prohibited Venezuela from taking any type of measure that changes the status quo in the area, but, in practice, the body could take years to issue a ruling on the case.
The 160,000 kilometer jungle region is rich in oil, one of the reasons for the dispute between the two nations. And, for this reason, the Venezuelan Executive has already announced the creation of new divisions of the state oil company (PDVSA) and the state steel company (CVG), in what they call a new Venezuelan state.
“We will immediately proceed to create the PDVSA Essequibo and CVG Essequibo division and immediately We will proceed to grant operating licenses for the exploration and exploitation of oil, gas and mines in our Guayana Esequiba,” Maduro remarked on state television.
For his part, the president of Guyana, Irfaan Ali, declared this Wednesday, December 6, that Caracas’ action plan is “an imminent threat” to its territorial integrity and world peace, for which he announced “precautionary measures” to protect the country.
Ali also assured that Venezuela is showing “flagrant disregard” for the ICJ ruling with these actions.
“Guyana will report on this matter early in the morning. We will write to the UN Security Council and the court. The Guyana Defense Forces are on high alert (…) Venezuela has clearly declared itself an outlaw nation” said the president in a national appearance.
In an exclusive interview with France 24Ali also encouraged the international community to speak out against the actions of Caracas.
Military deployment and action plan
The action plan for the area contemplates the creation of a military division to serve the area, although at the moment no armed incursion is planned. Maduro asked the FF. AA. Venezuelans settle in a town close to the Essequibo “provisionally.”
Something that experts and neighboring countries have interpreted as an attempt not to escalate the situation further. This Wednesday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, Mauro Vieira, assured that he sees no real risk of an armed conflict between neighboring Guyana and Venezuela, despite the escalation of tensions.
The start of oil and natural gas exploration is expected in the short term. And after the announcement of the action plan, Maduro asked the oil company PDVSA to begin “granting operational licenses for the exploration and exploitation of oil, gas and mines immediately.” However, it is not yet known how long it will take to process the first concession.
One of the next steps for Caracas is the granting of Venezuelan nationality to the nearly 125,000 people who live in Essequibo, mostly indigenous communities. An operation will also be deployed to manage the delivery of identity cards.
I immediately ordered to publish and take to all schools, high schools, Community Councils, public establishments, universities and in all homes in the country the new Map of Venezuela with our Guayana Esequiba. This is our beloved map! pic.twitter.com/qliW31Lyb9
— Nicolás Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) December 6, 2023
In addition, the Venezuelan president has also opted to declare the area as a “natural park”, to promote sustainable and environmentally friendly tourism. Maduro has accused the Government of Guyana of having “dismembered” the area and its biomes.
Now, Parliament, controlled by the ruling party, is expected to vote in favor of implementing the law to re-annex the area, which represents two-thirds of Guyana’s current territory. Something that is expected to happen in the next few days. At the moment, the region already appears on the official maps of Venezuela by presidential order.
With EFE, Reuters and local media
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