Dear Editor,
As a Guyanese national living in the United States, I must say that the reported news of Nicolás Maduro’s capture is one that I welcome with cautious optimism. As someone who has followed and been affected by the Venezuelan situation over the years, as well as the related pronouncements against Guyana, I view this as a move that is long overdue, and one that will hopefully bring the accountability that is required in these kinds of situations, and not to mention, the end of a certain kind of impunity with which Maduro operated for so long.
This is not to say that we should not have due process and standards of evidence to which the Venezuelan government and United States officials must hold themselves. Of course these are important, and one must wait to see the next steps and decisions that are to be made.
On a personal level, Maduro has been problematic not just because of the situation in his own country, but for Guyana and the region as a whole over the last few years. In particular, it has become a matter of some importance in the run-up to the March 2nd elections in Guyana, where Maduro has been vocal on a number of occasions, even as recently as last week, in asserting that the Essequibo is Venezuelan territory. For Guyanese, this is not just a matter of a jarring or discomforting comment, but a baseless and wilfully inflammatory statement against the entire country. The idea that another state could actually claim or even desire to lay claim to Guyana’s territory is not only incorrect, but also an assault on the order and stability that small states require in international relations.
The Essequibo is Guyana, through our history, through the administrative structure, and through the life experiences of the people who live there and for whom it is home. When a neighbouring country speaks as if the Essequibo is part of its sovereign territory, this is not a matter of abstract theory or a meaningless provocation. It makes people in Guyana nervous, it fosters animosity, and it creates dangerous openings for miscalculation.
Repeated statements of this nature have also been an example of a broader trend in recent years, where a head of state attempts to use nationalist sentiment and territorial claim-making as a way to shore up political legitimacy at home at the cost of regional stability. This is true not just for Maduro and Venezuela, but for other countries as well. Territorial assertions and nationalistic sentiments once stoked are difficult to contain and have a way of inflaming passions and leaving less space for calm, lawful settlement of disputes. For Guyana, this goes beyond words. It is a matter of the rule of law and the mutual respect for settled borders. It is a matter of the principle that territorial disputes must be settled peacefully and through recognised legal mechanisms.
It is therefore impossible to hear Maduro’s continued claims on the Essequibo as anything other than a false and inflammatory statement and a failure of legal sensibility and judgement. Guyana has long held the position that this is a matter that must be settled through due process. It is that process and that due process that makes Guyana and small countries more secure from threats of larger, more militarised neighbours, or of leaders with an appetite for nationalism and threat-making. When this is ignored or mocked, the entire region becomes less safe.
It is therefore understandable, if not a little satisfying to Guyanese who have been following the situation in the region, that a leader whose words and policies have been a source of persistent threat and destabilisation should face some form of accountability at this point. On the other hand, no state should be written off and no person should be denied their legal rights. It is important that accountability is given and taken in the right way, and that will require some transparency of process.
In the end, my hope is that developments like this one will pave the way to a future in which talk is replaced by responsible governance and respect for the sovereignty of other nations. Guyana has earned the right to live in peace without a periodic renewal of threats to its territorial integrity.