This Saturday, the Venezuelan opposition demanded the removal of a United Kingdom warship that arrived in the Caribbean on Thursday to participate in joint military exercises with Guyana, at a time of rising tensions over the territorial dispute over Essequibo.
“We raise our voice in rejecting unnecessary provocations in the Essequibo region and call for the immediate withdrawal of the British warship,” the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) said in a statement posted on social media.
In that statement, the PUD “reiterates that Venezuela has solid legal documents to protect the Essequibo region”, which “must be submitted to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to ensure that it takes a decision in accordance with the laws.”.
“We demand the validity of the 1966 Geneva Convention as the only instrument for a peaceful, practical and satisfactory resolution of the conflict. For this reason, we reject the presence of a British warship in the claimed area, as it is a provocative and unnecessary action”, highlighted the PUD.
On the other hand, the PUD “appeals to the parties [Venezuela e Guiana] So they can work out solutions through diplomatic channels.
Venezuela began military exercises on its border with Guyana on Thursday, “in response to threats” from the United Kingdom, which sent a warship to the area amid the Essequibo crisis.
According to President Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela's first phase of military exercises includes 5,682 fighter jets on patrol, F-16 and Sukhoi fighter jets, and several ships.
On the same day, Venezuela warned the United Kingdom and Guyana of threats to national sovereignty, within the scope of the Essequibo dispute, asserting that it “rejects and rejects the intervention of the United Kingdom in the region”. Controversy”.
On the other hand, he categorically rejects the arrival of the British naval ship “HMS Trent” off the coast of Guyana as an act of hostile provocation and a violation of the recent Argyll Declaration. [São Vicente e Granadinas]Considered a plan to settle the territorial dispute over Guyana Essequiba.
On December 14, Guyana and Venezuela reached an agreement not to use force to resolve the dispute over the Essequibo region and to use dialogue to reduce bilateral tensions.
The announcement was made at a press conference on the agreements reached by the Presidents of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro and Irfan Ali of Guyana during their meeting in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
The Essequibo region, which appears on Venezuelan maps as a “zone under claim”, has been under UN mediation since the signing of the Geneva Conventions in 1966.
With an area of approximately 160 thousand square kilometers, Essequibo is rich in oil resources, represents more than two-thirds of Guyana's land area and contains one-fifth of its population, i.e. about 125 thousand people.
For Venezuela, the Essequibo River should be the natural border, as it was in 1777 during the Spanish Empire. Guyana argues that the British colonial-era boundary was recognized by the Court of Arbitration in Paris in 1899.
Meanwhile, Guyana has already authorized eight foreign oil companies to explore for oil deposits in waters claimed by Venezuela.
On December 3, Venezuela held a consultative referendum in which more than 95% of the voters who participated voted in favor of the government's intentions to annex Essequibo to the Venezuelan maps.
Meanwhile, the Venezuelan president signed six decrees to recover Essequibo.
“Hardcore explorer. Extreme communicator. Professional writer. General music practitioner. Prone to fits of apathy.”