Caricom has recognised that Guyana’s ongoing border controversy with Venezuela represents a struggle for the entire Caribbean region as it threatens the economic zones of several member states, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge.
Greenidge said Caricom recognises that the decrees issued by Venezuela with regards to Guyana’s maritime territory are a “threat” to Caricom’s very existence. “…Because the exclusive economic zones of at least eight of the Caricom territories are claimed by Venezuela, so we have got to a point where Caricom recognises that the battle is not Guyana’s battle, it is the region’s battle,” he said, while speaking on the issue on Wednesday evening during the signing of a cooperation agreement between Guyana and Belize on the sidelines of the 37th Caricom Heads of Government meeting.
Last year, embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro issued decrees laying claim to most of Guyana’s Atlantic waters. The first decree had followed closely on the heels of an announcement by US Company ExxonMobil of a significant oil find in Guyana’s waters.
