Belize Condemns Venezuela’s Actions Against Guyana

John Briceño

On Thursday of last week, a Venezuelan navy vessel detained two fishing vessels in Guyana’s exclusive economic zone, the latest dispute in a long-running border conflict between the two South American nations.  In recent years, the conflict has flared up as Guyana has started developing oil reserves near the disputed area.  The Belizean Government is registering its grave concern about this latest incident.  A press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that twelve Guyanese nationals and their vessels, the “Lady Nayera” and the “Sea Wolf,” were intercepted by the Venezuelan Navy, the “Comandante Hugo Chavez GC 24” in Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone and subsequently detained at Port Guiria.  The Briceño administration is condemning this latest flagrant violation of Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity by Venezuela.  Belize called for the immediate release of the illegally detained Guyanese nationals and their vessels and urged the Government of Venezuela to respect international law and ensure a peaceful resolution of this incident. Prime Minister John Briceño commented on the matter.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“We have always stood by the basic principal of self determination. We also believe that that area has been declared a long time ago by the International Court of Justice that it is land that belongs to Guyana. So we stand by Guyana on this one.”