“An overwhelming success, a historic victory”: proving that “Venezuela has a transparent and reliable electoral system.” Nicolas Maduro He celebrates with florid statements the victory in the referendum on which he staked all his cards, and launches himself into a challenge that ignites a new hotbed of tensions in the country. latin america.
We are still far from the flashes of war, but the first flashes of conflict are on the horizon United States of America Let it be Great Britain They watch anxiously. Along the borders GuyanaIn the northeast of the continent, military units are gathering. Brazil does it, worried about what might happen, does it anyway Guyana Its population does not exceed 800,000 people, fearing that it will be overwhelmed by the patriotic and nationalist winds swept by the regime. Caracas It’s been blowing for weeks. The Venezuelan president wins the referendum to annex a large portion of Venezuelan territory Guyana XikipaIt is an area of 160,000 square kilometers, rich in raw materials, gold, oil and gas, and is founded by 10,544,320 million votes, a right that it considers ancient and historical as well. The torrent of yeses is approaching 90 percent.
date
Through five questions, he revives the ancient territorial claim of the former British colony that became independent in 1966. Guiana Esquipa, surrounded by dense forests, had been conquered by the Spanish Crown, which attempted to repopulate it. It then passed into Dutch hands and was finally ceded to Great Britain. Caracas, exhausted by the War of Independence, abandoned that piece of land that had always belonged to it, and it was not until 1899 that it appeared before international justice, claiming the sovereignty under which it ruled, known as Paris Arbitration Prizewas commissioned permanently London.
Venezuela protested, described this ruling as a fraud, and refused to accept it. The conflict was not resolved for more than half a century, and only when Great Britain granted independence to its former colony did it reach an agreement with Venezuela that recognized its neighbor’s claims and proposed assigning the conflict to Venezuela. United nations. The conflict remained suspended in a state of uncertainty without a clear and final agreement being reached. Once in power, same thing Hugo Chavez It ended up being shelved, starting a climate of détente with the new climate Guyana Independent, she is in a very bad state and has no resources, and he offers her help to help her in her misery. Wealthy Venezuela will sell Orinoco oil at discounted prices in exchange for a geopolitical deal that consolidates Chavez’s energy leadership in the region. Nicolas Maduro, who was Foreign Minister, followed the leader’s directives and focused on internal conflicts to emerge as the future dolphin leader of the Bolivarian Revolution. “Ha” for which he paid dearly and was rebuked by everyone, the opposition is at the forefront, even after the death of his teacher.
The issue resurfaced in 2020 when the UN’s highest court, the International Court of Justice, took over the file at Guyana’s request. The country had discovered very rich raw materials and was afraid to awaken its neighbor. Which happened immediately. The United Nations has yet to express its opinion since then, and it will likely take years before it does so. But when Maduro started playing the drums and promoting the referendum by launching a massive campaign and mobilizing all state agencies, Guyana became alarmed and asked the United Nations to prevent the consultations. Last Friday, the court rejected the request and allowed the referendum to be held. But he also warned Caracas to “refrain from taking any action that could alter Guyana’s control over Esquipa.”
Maduro’s aggressive tone
Incitement is not a report. The mobilization and tone used by the Venezuelan president were very clear. “This land belongs to us, our liberators have defended it and it will be defended again,” he said a few hours before the opening of the 11,122 polling stations spread across the country. But above all, it was the last two of the five proposed questions that raised the greatest concerns. The fourth asked whether we “agree to oppose by all means, in compliance with the law, the demand that Guyana act unilaterally in the sea awaiting the demarcation of the border.” It is not clear what “by all means” means, and whether this also presupposes the use of force, and thus annexation by military means.
The fifth question is more clear. He asked, “If we support the creation of a state.” Guyana Xikipa And develop a rapid global assistance plan for the current residents of that region, which includes granting citizenship and a Venezuelan identity card. Full integration of the population itself, who will thus officially become Venezuelan citizens.
This enthusiasm and passion arise from two needs. The first is politics. Maduro faces difficulty and needs to play the national and patriotic card to restore the consensus among the population that has collapsed to its lowest levels in history. In this way, he is distracting attention from the problems that have dragged the country into a catastrophic crisis, and is trying to regain his position in the face of the opposition that, along with Corinna Machado, the leader of the right and a potential candidate in the upcoming 2024 elections, risks overpowering him by changing him. A system that seems stainless.
The second reason is economic. Guyana has discovered itself rich, very rich, yet Exxon MobilAn American multinational energy company has identified more than 30 oil fields off the Atlantic coast. The sites are located directly upstream of the Essequibo River from Caracas, which is the natural border of the territory it now strongly claims. These pockets contain an estimated 11 billion barrels of crude oil. For four years, they have been producing nearly 400,000 barrels per day, bringing GDP to 43.5 percent in 2022, which this year is estimated at 3.2. The treasure that lifted the poorest and smallest state in South America out of poverty.
Guyana today sees a bright future, and all expectations confirm that it has a good chance of becoming the richest country in the region if it does not allow corruption to consume it. Nicolas Maduro knows this. Conquering Esquipa would be a breath of fresh air. It will also play its cards better in the match with the United States, as it is prepared to impose sanctions again if they obstruct the 2024 electoral process but is also suffering from oil shortages after the Russian bloc was hit with sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine. It is not known what will happen now. Thanks to his success, Maduro will be able to argue his case more forcefully at the United Nations by demanding a clear and final ruling. Or he imposes his hand and threatens his neighbor with invasion. Either way, it will have to contend with determined opposition from Guyana, which yesterday, with its president, Irfaan Ali, dressed in camouflage and in front of soldiers lining the border, repeated: “The Esquipa is ours, and we are ready to invade it.” Defending every square centimeter.”
“Freelance social media evangelist. Organizer. Certified student. Music maven.”
