[www.inewsguyana.com] – Vice President of Guyana Goldfields Inc Jacqueline Wagenaar has made it clear that the letter dispatched to the company by Venezuela, objecting to its mining operations in Guyana, is unfounded.
In a press release issued late on Thursday night, Wagenaar said that the company “received an unfounded notification of a possible legal claim from Venezuela.”
She further noted, “The Venezuela-Guyana border dispute was resolved and agreed upon by all parties under the 1899 Arbitration Agreement and any claims made outside of such agreement violate international law. The matter is currently before the United Nations, however Venezuela’s border claim is widely viewed by the international community to be without merit.”
iNews had reported that Venezuela’s Ambassdor to Ottowa wrote to the Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana-based Canadian company, warning the CEO against its mining operations in a part of Guyana that is being claimed by Venezuela.
This was revealed by Guyana’s President, David Granger during an address to the Parliament on Thursday, October 22. The President stated that on October 13, Venezuela’s Ambassador to Ottawa, Wilmer Barrientos wrote CEO Scott Caldwell, warning him against the company’s operations in Region 7 (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) of Guyana.
The letter warned that the opening of the gold mine would be: “infringing on the territorial sovereignty of Venezuela and committing unlawful actions which could incur legal consequences. As such, you are hereby fully given notice of the respective legal actions that could herein occur.”
