On Wednesday, the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the statements made by Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali regarding the Essequibo region. The text of the Venezuelan response is presented below:
“The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela condemns the recent statements made by President Irfaan Ali, who, in a reckless manner, has given the green light to the presence of the United States Southern Command in the territory of the Guayana Esequiba region, over which Guyana maintains a de facto occupa- tion and a territorial dispute with Venezuela.
This dispute is meant to be re- solved through the 1966 Geneva Agreement, the only valid legal instrument between the parties.
Venezuela denounces, before the international community, and especially before the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the imprudent attitude of Guyana.
Acting under the mandate of the U.S. transnational Exxon Mobil, Guyana is opening the possibility of establishing military bases for an imperial power, thereby threatening the Zone of Peace outlined in this region.
The Cooperative Republic of Guyana recklessly violates international law, taking actions that exacerbate the territorial dispute and add to its illegal con- duct of granting oil exploitation rights to Exxon Mobil over a sea area pending delimitation with Venezuela.
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, true to its doctrine of Bolivarian Diplomacy for Peace, urges the Government of Guyana to abandon its erratic, threatening, and risky behavior and to resume the path of direct dialogue through the Geneva Agreement.”
