Despite their proximity to Venezuela, residents of the Guyana border town of Mabaruma have little in common with their Spanish-speaking neighbors, says Brentnol Ashley, governor of the Barima-Waini region. Like other communities spread across the dense jungles of the Essequibo region, Mabaruma is a mosaic of indigenous people united by the English language and Guyana’s national culture.
The only Spanish speakers in the riverside settlement are Venezuelans who have sought refuge there in recent years after fleeing the economic collapse of their home country. So when Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced this week that he would issue identification cards from his country to the local population, and intensify efforts to turn Essequibo into a Venezuelan state, the local population showed little interest.
“We don’t need Mr. Maduro’s identity cards! We already have one. “We are Guyanese!” Ashley replied. “Even Venezuelans who have sought refuge here support us in this. “They don’t want to suffer any more of the hardships that drove them out of Venezuela in the first place.”
Claim
Maduro has turned the annexation of Essequibo, an oil-rich region that represents two-thirds of Guyana, into a national campaign since it gained its independence in the 19th century. And the Chavista leader has suggested that the way would be paving the way for a land grab. “People are afraid of an invasion. You are talking about a country with military power and resources against a country of 780,000 inhabitants,” explained journalist Nazima Raghubir.
At the center of the dispute is an incendiary vote held in Venezuela on Sunday, in which Caracas alleges that the public overwhelmingly backed the country’s claims to the 160,000 square kilometer swath of resource-rich rainforest. Maduro described the plebiscite as a “total success,” stating that 95% of Venezuelans supported the annexation plans for the region and were unaware of the international court of justice, which is currently mediating the century-old territorial dispute.
Analysts say voter turnout was likely inflated by the government, but Maduro has used the vote as a springboard to press ahead with his plans to incorporate the region into Venezuela: He revealed an enlarged map of his country and announced that he had commissioned the Assembly National drafting of a law that would recognize the Essequibo region as a Venezuelan state.
Petroleum
Maduro also ordered the national oil company, PDVSA, to begin exploring the region for deposits, and appointed a Party deputy, Major General Alexis Rodríguez Cabello, as head of a special military unit overseeing the new state. “The Venezuelan people have spoken loud and clear,” Maduro told a cheering crowd.
Venezuela has intensified its claim to the territory since billions of barrels of oil were discovered in the region in 2015. But today there is growing international concern that Maduro’s bluster could turn into action.
At war
As Venezuela escalates tensions, Guyana in turn must respond, raising concerns that the countries could find themselves in a vicious cycle with no way out.
“What worries us is that Maduro has given specific instructions, all of which talk about the occupation of our Essequibo,” denounced the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guyana, Hugh Todd. “We interpret these actions as a direct threat to our sovereignty and territorial integrity, so we obviously intend to send a strong signal to Venezuela that Guyana will protect its territorial integrity. “We remain on high alert and will not rule out any option,” added Todd, who manages international support.
Background
Guyana was part of the British empire for 200 years until it gained independence in 1966. As the only English-speaking country in South America, it has closer cultural and political ties with the Caribbean than with the rest of the continent. And knowing that it could not compete militarily with its much larger neighbor, it now hopes that the United States will make it clear that it will not tolerate an invasion.
Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has presented himself as a mediator in the dispute while sending troops to his country’s northern border. “We neither want nor need war in South America,” Lula remarked irritably. Venezuela’s claim is Manichean: it has never occupied Essequibo, but has argued that the borders drawn with what was then British Guiana were the product of corruption. “Our Guayana Esequiba has been de facto occupied by the British Empire and its heirs and they have destroyed the area,” Maduro argued before the referendum.
An electoral test for the 2024 presidential elections: the belligerent campaign is widely seen as a way to gain support and test his ability to boost participation in his favor, when all polls show him losing against the leader of the opposition María Corina Machado, whom she has sought to ban. “A war would also be the perfect excuse to say that there are no conditions for elections to be held and cancel them completely,” anticipated Ryan Berg, analyst and director of the Center’s Americas program. A winning move for the Chavista regime that does not want to see the end of its days.
