Guyana and Venezuela Borderlines: The Essequibo Crisis from a Geopolitical Lens
A new “Ukraine” tactic from Maduro’s dictatorship?
It is known that when an authoritarian regime faces weaknesses, the first thing it does as a strategy is attack or look for pretexts to continue in power using cheap populism.
Many times, these dictatorial actions not only put a country at risk, but they can put an entire region or continent at risk and also impact the whole planet. A clear example is the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
One of these situations occurs in South America concerning the Essequibo region between Venezuela and Guyana and the actions of the dictator Nicolas Maduro against the former English colony.
According to The Conversation, in 2015, Maduro issued a decree reiterating Venezuela’s claim and repudiated any plans to exploit resources in Guyana’s territorial sea and exclusive economic zone. Most recently, he has been seen on national television holding a revised map of Venezuela, depicting a country that now includes about 70% of Guyana.
Since this situation is a crucial issue in geopolitics, oil, and investments, it seemed very important to address it in the podcast “The Geopolitical Puzzle.” because the tension between the two countries represents a geopolitical dimension.
Joel Bhagwandin is a political and investment analyst based in Georgetown, Guyana; he has published numerous articles and videos about geopolitical issues in his country.
On October 2023, he published an article on the Guyanese portal The Guyana Standard, titled The Guyana/Venezuela Border Controversy, the Geopolitics of Oil, & Regional Security where he highlighted:
The consistent claims of Venezuela over Essequibo.
Guyana’s geopolitical security
Nicolas Maduro’s recent statements and threats
U.S. military protection over Guyana’s territorial
Having a conversation with Joel Bhagwandin was a great way to start the second season by addressing the Essequibo crisis from a geopolitical lens.
This “ongoing” situation involves American oil companies such as Exxon Mobil. The company shares through many media and press reports that it will remain in Guyana in the long term regardless of the Essequibo issue with Venezuela.
We have to remain attentive to what the dictatorial regime of Maduro and his henchmen plan to do in this critical Essequibo region and, as the U.S. Department of State mentions on its website, “Secretary Blinken reaffirmed the United States’ position that the land boundary between Venezuela and Guyana should be respected.”
Juan-Carlos Giraldo