Post by Tony Enriquez / UKIPA Holdings on Mar 11, 2015 18:12:59 GMT 4
Tensions between Guyana and Venezuela could escalate, expert says
Guyana should be on the alert for a more confrontational stance on Venezuela's part in the neighbors' century-old dispute over the Essequibo Region, an academic expert said Tuesday.
Mark Kirton, a professor of international relations at the University of the West Indies, said the Venezuelan government was likely to seek to divert attention from its internal political troubles and U.S. sanctions against Caracas by focusing on its claim to resource-rich Essequibo.
"The fact that there are sanctions would mean that there is an escalation in the tension between the two states and you know that what has happened in the past is that when there are internal issues, there is a tendency for Venezuela to up the ante for the claim, so you have to look at that in the context of their alienation from the rest of the hemisphere perhaps or at least the U.S.," Kirton told Demerara Waves Radio in Georgetown.
Essequibo is a resource-rich region area of 167,839 sq. kilometers (64,800 sq. miles) that is administered by Guyana, but claimed by Venezuela.
Venezuela is currently feuding with Guyana over Georgetown's decision to give U.S.-based Exxon Mobil a concession to explore for oil in Essequibo coastal waters.
While Guyana has benefited from good relations with the Venezuelan administrations of the late Hugo Chavez and current President Nicolas Maduro, Kirton said it was possible that Venezuela might seek to "bring back some level of nationalism by upping the (Essequibo) claim again, so in that sense we have to look at it."
Venezuela recently penned a letter to the local subsidiary of Exxon Mobil warning against the offshore oil prospecting. Guyana rebuffed the missive and the company has ignored the threat to proceed with a 60-day drilling program.
Guyana should be on the alert for a more confrontational stance on Venezuela's part in the neighbors' century-old dispute over the Essequibo Region, an academic expert said Tuesday.
Mark Kirton, a professor of international relations at the University of the West Indies, said the Venezuelan government was likely to seek to divert attention from its internal political troubles and U.S. sanctions against Caracas by focusing on its claim to resource-rich Essequibo.
"The fact that there are sanctions would mean that there is an escalation in the tension between the two states and you know that what has happened in the past is that when there are internal issues, there is a tendency for Venezuela to up the ante for the claim, so you have to look at that in the context of their alienation from the rest of the hemisphere perhaps or at least the U.S.," Kirton told Demerara Waves Radio in Georgetown.
Essequibo is a resource-rich region area of 167,839 sq. kilometers (64,800 sq. miles) that is administered by Guyana, but claimed by Venezuela.
Venezuela is currently feuding with Guyana over Georgetown's decision to give U.S.-based Exxon Mobil a concession to explore for oil in Essequibo coastal waters.
While Guyana has benefited from good relations with the Venezuelan administrations of the late Hugo Chavez and current President Nicolas Maduro, Kirton said it was possible that Venezuela might seek to "bring back some level of nationalism by upping the (Essequibo) claim again, so in that sense we have to look at it."
Venezuela recently penned a letter to the local subsidiary of Exxon Mobil warning against the offshore oil prospecting. Guyana rebuffed the missive and the company has ignored the threat to proceed with a 60-day drilling program.