Venezuela under Rodríguez is under heavy scrutiny from US

Dear Editor,

The United States captured or kidnapped, it doesn’t matter what you call it, Nicolas Maduro and his wife, the former head of the Venezuelan regime, in dramatic fashion, literally invading Venezuela long enough and with military precision to grab him, transport him to America and put him in prison. What difference, if any, does it make to the determination of Venezuela’s claim to Essequibo?

Should we now be relieved that the threat of a military invasion from Venezuela has disappeared? The Venezuelan government under acting President, Delcy Rodriguez, apparently now under US control, will simply give up a claim that every Venezuelan, from cradle to grave, has been taught to believe in. If any Guyanese believes that, then they are sadly mistaken.

The former British High Commissioner to Guyana, Greg Quinn, who remains, to his credit, very much interested in the welfare of our country, writing in Stabroek News (26th February, 2026), knows better, “Venezuela has not changed. The folks who supported Maduro when he was President are still in charge – and they have not changed their opinions.”^[1] He asks the question “why should anyone believe that Venezuela would change its position because its brutal dictator was replaced by the woman who was his right-hand?”

Just ten days ago, Quinn pointed out that Venezuela’s Foreign Minister, Yvan Gil, had this to say, “the peoples of Guyana and Venezuela are certain we will find a solution, a definition of this controversy through a mechanism by this agreement of direct consultation, as mandated by this agreement.” He refers to the Geneva Agreement which Venezuela continues to misinterpret.

The Geneva Agreement between the United Kingdom and Venezuela in February 1966^[2] and joined by Guyana when we became independent three months later, allowed for a period of diplomatic negotiations between Venezuela and Guyana as the first means of resolving the controversy, and if that didn’t settle the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award which fixed the boundaries between Guyana and Venezuela as now exists^[3], which it didn’t, it further allowed for the matter to be referred back to the Secretary-General of the United Nations to propose further means of settlement, who then proposed a “Good Offices Process” under his supervision, prolonging the matter for another twenty years without progress.

The Secretary-General then, in accordance with the provision enshrined in the Geneva Agreement, informed Guyana and Venezuela on 30th January, 2018, that he had decided that the means of settlement would be judicial settlement by the International Court of Justice (ICJ)^[4] where the matter is still being pursued and a decision, which is final, and which both Guyana and Venezuela are bound to accept.

Choosing to ignore the decision of the Secretary-General and refusing to acknowledge the authority of the Court, the Venezuelan government persists with their attempt to return the matter to bilateral negotiations but, as Greg Quinn correctly points out, “there is nothing to negotiate” and… “There is nothing to suggest there are grounds for renegotiations…. the border was settled in 1899 and the 1966 Geneva Agreement does nothing to suggest that the border was invalid or wrong.”

The fact now is that the Trump administration, having removed Maduro, have left in control of Venezuela not only Rodriguez, but the Minister of Interior, Diosado Cabello, and, Defence Minister, Vladimir Padrino, who controls the army. All of whom were Maduro’s loyalists.

The real danger in all of this is referred to by Dr. Bertrand Ramcharran when writing in the Stabroek News (21st January, 2026) that while, “as a policy proposition, the USA may remain disposed to protect Guyana’s sovereignty, it cannot be excluded, however, that it might wish to promote a negotiated settlement between Guyana and Venezuela – even if it supports the continuance of the proceedings at the International Court of Justice.”^[5]

The US has now reestablished its Embassy in Caracas^[6], seeking to replace the presence and influence of Iran, China and Russia with American control in place.

It is reasonable to ask, in the circumstances, why has the US left exactly the same Venezuelan government officials in charge, other than Maduro, and to what extent does the US government have control of Venezuela? The answer for the time being seems obvious. Once Delcy Rodriguez exercises control over Cabello and Padrino, she exercises control over the Venezuelan military and control over the Venezuelan oil and gas industry, and seems willing to hand it over, lock, stock and barrel to the US oil companies to restore, manage and market.

The American President is on record that US relationships with Venezuela are “very good”, and, in fact, he plans to visit Venezuela soon. A Reuters release in February 2026 quoted Trump as saying, “we have a very good relationship with the President of Venezuela”, and that the US is “working together very closely” with Rodriguez on access to oil. Interestingly, however, Reuters reports that the “Trump administration officials in recent weeks made clear that the US did not recognise Rodriguez’s interim government as legitimate”. In turn, Rodriguez, playing both sides against the middle, told NBC News that she recognises Maduro as still “the legitimate President” of Venezuela.^[7]

Donald Trump, however, is clearly not leaving anything to chance with Rodriguez in charge of Venezuela. A Reuters report, which the US Justice Department denies, reveals that Rodriguez is under threat of being charged by a US Court for criminal behaviour.^[8] It is a safe bet that if Rodriguez does not do what she is told to do, she will suffer the same fate, or worse, as Maduro.

While all of this is going on, one thing seems to be absolutely certain, and that is the present government in Venezuela, under Rodriguez, even if under heavy manners from the US government, has not and will not abandon its claim on the Essequibo, and all in Guyana must know that, understand the possible, if not probable, consequences and that we must never let our guard down in protecting our nation’s sovereignty.

References

1. Stabroek News has been an important source of information and analysis for me ↩
2. Geneva Agreement (1966) — en.wikipedia.org ↩
3. Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899 (Guyana v. Venezuela) — www.icj-cij.org ↩
4. Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on the border controversy between Guyana and Venezuela [scroll down for Spanish version] — www.un.org ↩
5. The great integrity and goodwill of the President of the CCJ ↩
6. US, Venezuela agree to re-establish diplomatic ties — www.reuters.com ↩
7. Nicolás Maduro is still the 'legitimate president' of Venezuela, acting ... — www.nbcnews.com ↩
8. Exclusive: US turns up heat on Venezuela with threat to indict new ... — www.reuters.com ↩