Territorial conflicts continue in South America. Venezuela claims as part of its territory practically two-thirds of the territory of its neighboring country, Guyana. This is only one part of a long struggle that goes back to the days when this last nation was a colony United kingdom.
The disputed area, known as Guyana Essequipa, was considered part of the Captaincy General of Venezuela, which was the name of the country of the Lanero when it was not yet independent from Spanish rule. what happened after that?
Why Venezuela is in conflict with Guyana?
Connection Guyana Essequipa It was under the control of the Spanish Empire and was part of the Venezuela’s General Commandwhich was founded in 1777. After gaining independence, the Republic of Venezuela kept it within its territories, taking the Essequibo River as its eastern border.
In 1819, with the creation of the Republic of Colombia (Gran Colombia), Great Britain recognized the course of the Essequibo River as a border. When Venezuela seceded from the Republic of Colombia in 1830, The Essequibo River remained as the border of the Republic of Venezuela.” Details by Venezuelan historian Manuel Donis for the BBC.
Map of Venezuela in 1840. The Essequibo River was considered the country’s eastern border. Image: public domain
The specialist, who has spent more than three decades studying the history of the Essequibo frontier, recounts that said boundary was respected through much of the nineteenth century, “until gold was found in the basin of the Yurare River, in Venezuelan Guayana which gave rise to British ambition for that region.” “.
The lands east of Essequibo had been part of the British Empire since they were ceded by the Netherlands. These were known as British Guiana since 1814. But the agreement did not define the western boundary of the ceded territory, so explorer Robert Schomburg was commissioned to draw the boundary in 1840.
The territory handed over to the Netherlands was 51,700 km², however Schaumburg line He added another 80,000. Over time, new lines that already existed to the left of the Essequibo River were drawn.
Schomburgk Line and the various borders recognized by the United Kingdom. photo: planwac/Twitter
Controversial Paris Prize
Already in 1841, the Venezuelan government, led by José Antonio Paez, denounced the alleged incursion into his country by the United Kingdom. Unable to confront a power like the British, Venezuela sought the help of the United States.
This came to fruition in 1897, when the North American country (on behalf of Venezuela) and the United Kingdom signed a treaty to bring the dispute to international arbitration. The Venezuelan thesis appealed to L current possession, The principle according to which states should administer the lands to which they belong geographically and historically.
However, the result was different. The Paris Prize, ruling on October 3, 1899, in agreement with the United Kingdom, to establish a variation of the “Schomburg Line” as a boundary. “Venezuela acted in good faith, but was the victim of a settlement between the Americans, the British and (Russian judge) Frederick Martens,” says Donis.
Paris Arbitration Court. His decision was widely discussed in Venezuela, which years later called it “null and void”. Photo: The Lame Man Illustrated
This theory has been bolstered by documentary evidence such as that presented in 1949 by the legal representative of Severo Mallet-Prevost, an American attorney who defended Venezuelain which he denounced the arbitral award: “The two British judges acted not as judges, but as men of government.”
With these tests, Venezuela denounced the Paris Prize as a “null and void” agreement. the government of the then president Romulo Betancourt I denounced the irregularities to the United Nations in 1962 so that the United Kingdom would agree to review the award, but the European country refused.
Geneva Convention and the role of the Hague
Three months before recognizing Guyana’s independence, Venezuela signed a treaty with the new country and the United Kingdom Geneva Conventionindicating that if the two countries do not agree on a peaceful solution, the Secretary-General of the United Nations must choose some kind of resolution mechanism for Article 33 of the United Nations Charter.
The Venezuelan and Guyana delegates continued to meet between 1983 and 2018, the year the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, decided that The International Court of Justice in The Hague Status check.
In March of that year, Guyana petitioned the aforementioned court to recognize the legal validity and binding effect of the award. This country argues that Venezuela agreed in 1897 to accept the arbitral tribunal’s decision as final and final.
The International Court of Justice in The Hague announced that it has jurisdiction to review the cases of Guyana and Venezuela. Photo: EFE
However, the government of Nicolás Maduro does not recognize The Hague’s jurisdiction to resolve the dispute, although the court announced in December 2020 that it was competent to review the case.
In November 2022, the Vice-President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, asked the International Court of Justice to declare Guyana’s claim inadmissible, due to the lack of participation of the United Kingdom, the indispensable party to the settlement of the disputed issue.
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