VENEZUELA’S continued disrespect for international law is a risky escalation of its long-standing effort to annex Guyana’s sovereign Essequibo territory. The recent ICJ decision, where it voted 12-3 to bar Venezuela from holding elections in the Essequibo area, is yet another unequivocal confirmation of what Guyanese already knew – Essequibo is Guyana’s.

The Government of Guyana’s call to Venezuela to “act responsibly” and respect ICJ decisions is not diplomatic rhetoric but a necessary plea for regional security and international legal respect for institutions. Venezuela’s January decision to hold elections for a putative “Guayana Esequiba State” is nothing less than an outright attempt at undermining Guyana’s territorial integrity by political drama.

The historical record is clear. The 1899 Arbitral Award ultimately determined the border between British Guiana (Guyana) and Venezuela. Venezuela accepted uncomplainingly this verdict for more than six decades before reversing itself when Guyana was soon to achieve independence in 1966. Such convenient timing is evidence of the opportunistic desires of Venezuela’s expansionist ambitions.

The Essequibo region comprises about two-thirds of Guyana’s territory and has remained in Guyanese hands and governance since independence. Venezuela’s efforts to assert sovereignty over the region are a blatant violation of widely established international law and destabilisation of the entire Caribbean and Latin American region. Venezuela’s activities surpass the posturing of petty politics. On March 1, 2025, a Venezuelan vessel, the ABV Guaiqueiri PO-11-IMO 469552, forcefully intruded into Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone, moving towards the FPSO PROSPERITY menacingly and proceeding illegally through Guyana’s waters.

These aggressive actions reflect a calculated pattern of escalation threatening not just the sovereignty of Guyana but also its economic development. The threatening radio signals by the Venezuelan vessel, falsely reporting FPSO PROSPERITY to be operating in waters off Venezuela, were also a deadly act of provocation.

Constructing a bridge between Venezuela and Ankoko Island further demonstrates the determination of Caracas to occupy physically its ill-fated extraterritorial claims. Despite the Argyle Declaration of December 2024 being hailed as a diplomatic success that would arrest Venezuela’s “rampaging advance towards a possible invasion,” the response of Venezuela afterwards suggests it was a strategic lull and not a genuine commitment to peaceful settlement. Attorney Ralph Ramkarran appraised the Argyle Declaration correctly as a “great victory” for Guyana, but the response of Venezuela has contradicted the ethos of that accord through relentless acts of provocation.

Guyana’s response to this conflict has been admirable – rigid adherence to international law, resorting to lawful means of solution, and exercising remarkable restraint in the face of provocation from Venezuela. The presentation of Guyana’s response to Venezuela’s Counter-Memorial to the ICJ in December 2024 was another in the legal progression towards the final confirmation of Guyana’s sovereignty over the Essequibo.

Venezuela’s answer is to be received by August 2025, and oral hearings will follow. At each step, Guyana has reaffirmed that the ICJ judgment will be “definitive, final and binding” on both nations, demonstrating its dedication to judicial resolution that Venezuela should also adhere to.

The world community now has to be firmer in condemning Venezuela’s land invasions. The ICJ orders of 2023 December and 2025 May are legally binding on Venezuela, and its contempt is a blatant challenge to the international legal order. Regional organisations such as CARICOM and the Organisation of American States must step up the pressure on Venezuela to respect these orders. The economic opportunities provided by the offshore oil finds in Guyana should not be derailed by the territorial aspirations of Venezuela. Venezuela’s actions become increasingly desperate as the Guyanese economy develops.

While this saga plays itself out in the halls of the ICJ, Venezuela must move beyond giving “lip service” to the Geneva Agreement and take active steps to abide by international law. The peace and stability of our region depend on it. Guyana’s title to the Essequibo cannot be traded, and no amount of political maneuvering or military bravado by Venezuela will change this fundamental fact. The Guyana Government has a right to be suspicious and to warn its foreign friends and allies about the aggressive postures of Venezuela. It is time for Venezuela to see what the international community already sees – that the Essequibo region is and will always remain part of the sovereign nation of Guyana.