T&T backs Guyana against Venezuela’s aggression

Mar 06, 2025 News

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Trinidad Express – Acting Prime Minister Stuart Young says Trinidad and Tobago is in support of Guyana’s sovereignty in the territorial dispute between Guyana and Venezuela.

“Trinidad and Tobago’s position is that we fully support Guyana’s sovereignty and we advocate for, and encourage the application of, and abiding by, the Argyle accord,” he told the Express yesterday via WhatsApp.

On December 14, 2023 in Argyle, St Vincent and the Grenadines Guyana, President Dr Irfaan Ali and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signed The Joint Declaration of Argyle for Dialogue and Peace Between Guyana and Venezuela. But the territorial dispute heated up again over the weekend when Ali expressed alarm after a coast guard vessel from Venezuela entered the waters of Guyana on Saturday within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

At a news conference, Ali stated that a Venezuelan coast guard vessel had entered the maritime waters of Guyana, approached lawfully operating assets there and transmitted a radio message declaring that they were in “disputed international waters”, when they were within Guyana’s territory.

The area is home to a huge offshore oil deposit being developed by ExxonMobil.

Ali stated that several aircraft and marine vessels had been deployed to support the large number of drill ships, seismic vessels and support ships operating in the block.

Saturday’s incident followed an attack two weeks ago by armed men, who were suspected Venezuelan pirates, operating in the border Cuyuni River, and who exchanged gunfire with a Guyanese military patrol, injuring six soldiers, two of them seriously.

A communiqué Saturday from Maduro’s office stated, “Venezuela categorically repudiates the baseless remarks of the President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Irfaan Ali, who lies brazenly when he claims that units of the Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela are violating the maritime territory of Guyana, hiding the fact that those waters do not form part of Guyanese territory since it is a maritime zone pending delimitation in accordance with international law.”

The statement was headed, “Irfaan Ali pretends to become the Caribbean’s Zelenskyy to generate conflict in our region through dangerous provocations”.

Venezuela went on to state that Ali’s remarks were “full of inaccuracies, falsehoods and contradictions, in his eagerness to disrupt the peace and tranquillity of our region by sowing the seeds of a dangerous conflict”.

On Saturday Venezuela’s actions were condemned by the US State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere which said that Venezuela was in violation, and called the incident “unacceptable”. The Organisation of American States said, “Such acts of intimidation constitute a clear violation of international law, undermine regional stability, and threaten the principles of peaceful coexistence between nations”; while Caricom called on Venezuela to urgently remove the naval vessel in question, as it reminded both countries of their obligation under international law to avoid unnecessary confrontational actions.

Commonwealth SG joins condemnation

Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland KC yesterday echoed Ali’s alarm over the situation. In a statement, she condemned the action and urged the international community and the Commonwealth family to continue to support Guyana.

Scotland also praised Guyana’s response, saying that it exhibited restraint and responsibility by engaging in diplomatic actions to address the crisis.

“This recent action by Venezuela runs counter to the spirit of the Joint Declaration of Argyle for Dialogue and Peace between Guyana and Venezuela, signed on 14 December 2023, where both states agreed to use international law and diplomatic means to address the controversy and to refrain from escalating the conflict,” she said.

The Secretary-General encouraged Venezuela to respect international law and to adhere to the unanimous Order on Provisional Measures of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of 1 December 2023 that provided that, pending the Court’s final decision in the case.

“The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela shall refrain from taking any action which would modify the situation that currently prevails in the territory in dispute, whereby the Co-operative Republic of Guyana administers and exercises control over that area,” she said.

She pointed to the Leaders’ Statement and Samoa Communiqué of the recently held Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Apia, Samoa, last October 2024, where Leaders unanimously “reiterated their continued support for the ICJ which has accepted jurisdiction over the controversy, to resolve the matter fully and finally by means of its binding legal judgment.” The Commonwealth Heads of Government also “reaffirmed the Commonwealth’s unswerving support for the preservation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Guyana.”

The Commonwealth Secretary-General urged the Government and people of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to abide by the principles of international law and to refrain from actions that threaten the peace and stability of the Caribbean region.

The Secretary-General reiterated President Ali’s request, made on March 1, 2025, that “Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is respected and honoured.”

(T&T backs Guyana against Venezuela’s aggression)

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• ExxonMobil, Guyana’s sovereignty, Guyana’s territory., Prime Minister Stuart Young, Trinidad and Tobago

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