Another threat to the Chavista regime: It stated that it would respond “proportionately” to “provocations” in the Essequibo region.

Defense Minister of VenezuelaVladimir Padrino said this Friday that his country would respond “proportionately” to any provocation detected in nearby waters by the Chavista armed forces. EssequiboA territory with which a country has a dispute of Guyana.

“We will maintain a strong presence in our sovereign maritime space with military deployments and To act proportionately (in face) to any provocation Which is what we intend to do in that maritime region,” the minister said during an event with the military in Caracas.

declared the godfather That the United States wants to be “irresponsibly involved.” Essequibo, an area of ​​about 160,000 square kilometers, is rich in oil, controlled by Georgetown since 1899, in a territorial dispute between Guyana and Venezuela.

He criticized Washington for promoting military exercises Venezuela considers the remaining waters to be demarcatedAnd he sees Guyana as an integral part of his geography, as well as the country’s Atlantic front, whose sovereignty – he stressed – is “indispensable”.

He said these actions threaten regional peace, which is why he recalled that his head of state, Nicolás Maduro, had ordered the maintenance of military deployments in these waters of the Caribbean Sea and “Save Inch by Inch” The territory they claim as sovereign.

“This zone of peace is threatened by the presence of the (US) Southern Command in the land and waters to be demarcated in Venezuela and Guyana,” he remarked.

military leader He asked the armed forces to be ready “without humiliating or blackmailing anyone, or threatening anyone”.

After a unilateral referendum held in Venezuela escalated tensions, in mid-December, Maduro and his Guyanese counterpart, Irfan Ali, activated a diplomatic channel to address the territorial dispute, allowing the annexation of the area. Which remains fully controlled. by Georgetown.

Last Wednesday, Maduro reiterated that he does not recognize the jurisdiction of International Court of Justice (ICJ) In the dispute with Guyana over Essequibo, the Caracas government was a month before the scheduled date to present a counter-memorial in defense of its position. “Venezuela does not and will not accept judicial colonialism. As a nation, we have never accepted that the ICJ settles the border dispute over Essequibo. It is a historic position that we will always maintain,” the head of state wrote in a brief release in X.

The ICJ, which declared itself competent to rule on the dispute, set an April 8 deadline for Venezuela to submit a counter-memorial in defense of its position that the territory, rich in natural resources, is its own.

In any case, Regardless of the United Nations court’s decision, Guyana will have to “dialogue, negotiate and sit down” with Venezuela.As Maduro said recently, who assured that his nation “will remain in the same place, with the same location,” that’s when the ICJ issues its ruling.

Last week, the head of state insisted that, to resolve the dispute, Venezuela only recognizes the Geneva Agreement signed by the parties in 1966, which establishes that a solution must be agreed upon through direct and friendly dialogue.

Guyana defends the Paris Arbitration Award of 1899, which gave the then British Guiana sovereignty over the disputed area.

(with information from EFE)