‘Progress can be made through private conversations’ – US official as Venezuela continues threats against Guyana

Acknowledging that American investments in Guyana require stability and security amid continued threats from Venezuela, the United States has said meaningful diplomatic progress can be achieved through private discussions.

This position was outlined on Wednesday by United States Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, Jacob Helberg, who was in Guyana, where he held bilateral discussions with President Dr Irfaan Ali on a range of issues.

During a subsequent press briefing, Helberg was asked what mediatory role the United States could play as Venezuela continues to threaten Guyana while maintaining that it will not recognise any ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the decades-old border controversy between the two countries
In response, Helberg said Washington will continue monitoring the border controversy case while also pursuing private diplomatic engagements on the matter.

“We’re monitoring that events at the ICJ very, very closely. We understand and agree that security is a precondition for prosperity and ultimately a lot of those conversations right now will be private and we believe that we can make progress through private conversations,” Helberg said.

His comments come on the heels of United States Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar, Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere Affairs, issuing a statement, sharply criticising Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Roriguez over continued threats to Guyana’s territorial sovereignty.

In the statement via X on Tuesday evening, Salazar said, “Delcy thinks she can trick President Trump the same way she and Maduro tricked and destroyed Venezuela. But President Trump knows exactly who she is: another member of Ali Baba and the 40 thieves. You don’t deal with him through secret letters while trying to steal territory from a free and sovereign nation like Guyana. Unlike the Maduro regime, Guyana didn’t rob its people. They managed their oil wealth responsibly, created a sovereign wealth fund, and saw GDP per capita quadruple in just five years. Delcy should stop threatening Guyana and start learning from it.”

Salazar’s statement came one day after Rodriguez told the World Court during oral hearings that Venezuela will ignore its ruling on the border case.

“This Court was created to resolve conflicts, not to encourage them. Only a political and negotiated solution to the territorial dispute can lay a solid and stable foundation for good neighbourliness, cooperation, shared economic development, and the promotion of secure investment in the region,” Rodriguez told the ICJ.

Guyana has already maintained that it will abide by the World Court’s ruling and has expressed hope that Venezuela stops further actions of aggression and follow suit.

“We will continue to address Venezuela in a spirit of peace, cooperation and friendship, and as sovereign equals. We will respect Venezuela’s sovereignty, as we have always done, and insist that Venezuela refrain from trespassing on, or threatening, Guyana’s sovereignty,” the Guyana Government, through the Attorney General Chambers, has said.