Rodriguez’s Essequibo brooch draws concern
As Venezuela’s Interim President Delcy Rodriguez met with Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley inviting the country to invest in Venezuelan oil and gas earlier this week, she wore a brooch appearing to depict a map of Venezuela that includes the disputed Essequibo region of Guyana on her chest.Rodriguez grouped Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago into a category of “vassal states” warning them both not to cooperate with US forces for any attack against Venezuela.This warning came as Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister issued her own to Venezuela, that any attack on Guyana would grant the US unflinching access to T&T’s territory.
In February 2024, Rodriguez had claimed that Ali had disposed of pending delimitation, granting transnational energy companies’ concessions and breaching international law, in a post to her X account. “Venezuela does not recognize nor will recognize the fraudulent boundaries of the dispossessing award. And it will never renounce the defense of its rights. Our response will be proportional to the gross violations by Guyana and its imperialist masters!” she had written.
In a letter penned to Caricom President Terrence Drew today, Ali noted with concern Rodriguez’s “public display” of the incorrect map. He wrote that Guyana respects the sovereign right of Caricom states to engage in bilateral relations with all partners, including Venezuela.“The use of CARICOM engagements to project or promote a territorial claim against a Member State risk being interpreted as acquiescence or tolerance. No action, whether deliberate or inadvertent, should create the impression that the Community's platforms may be used to advance claims now before the International Court of Justice. CARICOM's principled support for Guyana must be reflected not only in declarations, but also in the context and conduct of official engagements.”