Guyana has vowed to maintain its position regarding the ownership of the Essequibo region, as the United States dismissed a claim by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro that Washington is building secret military bases there.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said Georgetown will not back down from protecting its land and sovereignty and Venezuela’s latest actions are a form of annexation by decree, in clear contravention of the Argyle Declaration and the judicial process currently before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Earlier, Washington had dismissed claims by Maduro that it is building secret military bases in Essequibo, an oil-rich region of Guyana that makes up about two-thirds of the country and is home to 125,000 of its 800,000 citizens.
On Wednesday, Maduro, campaigning for the upcoming Presidential election, alleged secret US military bases in Essequibo, calling them an “aggression” and saying they were built “to prepare for an escalation against Venezuela.”
