The Private Sector Commission (PSC) of Guyana has strongly condemned what it describes as a “deliberate and provocative” display of imagery by a senior Venezuelan official showing Guyana’s Essequibo region as part of Venezuela during a recent high-level regional engagement in Barbados.
On Monday evening, in a statement, the PSC said the act was “neither incidental nor benign,” but rather unacceptable within the framework of international law and diplomatic conduct. It said the incident amounts to “symbolic aggression” intended to influence perceptions and test international resolve.
The Commission also noted a pattern of similar actions, referencing an earlier incident during a state visit to Grenada where acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez wore a brooch depicting Venezuela’s map that included Guyana’s Essequibo region, an action that also drew public criticism from Guyanese stakeholders.
The PSC warned that such repeated displays risk undermining regional stability, eroding trust, and weakening principles of peaceful dispute resolution.
“Guyana’s sovereignty is not up for debate,” the Commission stated. “Our borders are non-negotiable. Essequibo is ours.”
CARICOM stance
It further urged CARICOM and international partners to take a firm stance against what it called provocation from Venezuela and to defend the rule of law.
“We urge CARICOM and global partners to stand against provocation from Venezuela and defend the rule of law,” the statement added. “Silence or inaction risks emboldening further escalation.”
The Commission also called on the Government of Barbados to stand firmly in defence of Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, noting that the incident occurred during a regional engagement hosted in Barbados.
Guyana’s position on the Essequibo region remains unchanged, the PSC, reiterating that Essequibo is administered by Guyana, populated by Guyanese citizens, developed by Guyana, and protected under international law.
It also rejected Venezuela’s continued territorial claims, including the creation of the so-called “Guayana Esequiba” state, describing these actions as illegal and contrary to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) process and the Argyle Declaration.
The statement comes amid renewed regional attention on the long-standing Guyana–Venezuela border controversy, which is currently before the ICJ for a final and binding ruling.
President Dr Irfaan Ali has previously restated Guyana’s position, saying the country does not “take lightly any threats to the sovereignty of Guyana” and maintaining that “Essequibo is Guyana’s,” referencing the 1899 Arbitral Award which established the boundary.
The PSC said Guyana’s private sector stands firmly with the government and people of Guyana, stressing that economic stability and investment depend on respect for internationally recognised borders.
Meanwhile, this latest act of aggression from Caracas comes as the border controversy case is set for oral hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday, May 4. These hearings are expected to last for at least one week, with the possibility of extending further depending on the Court’s schedule.
Back in 2018, Guyana approached the court, seeking a final and binding settlement of the 1899 Arbitral Award, which demarcates the boundaries between the two nations.
The case is fixed for oral arguments on the merits in May, after which the World Court would deliberate on its decision. But in furtherance of its spurious claims to more than two-thirds of Guyana’s landmass – the entire Essequibo region and a portion of Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), where over 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) have been found and production as well as other exploration activities are currently being undertaken offshore – Venezuela has been heightening its aggressive tactics towards Guyana over the years. Just over a year ago on March 1, 2025, there was an incursion into Guyana’s waters by Venezuelan naval vessels which threatened several oil vessels operating there, something which was widely condemned by the international community, including the United States.
However, there was a belief that the January 3 capture of Maduro and his wife in Caracas by US troops to face criminal indictments in New York would have seen an ease in aggression from the Spanish-speaking neighbour. But just last month, Guyana had to reaffirm the country’s sovereignty over its maritime jurisdiction, telling Caracas that it has no legal rights to the waters off of Guyana’s coast.
This was after Venezuela had raised objections to a decision made by the Guyana government to advance a three-dimensional multi-client seismic exploration to gather data from a 25,000 square kilometre offshore area within Guyana’s EEZ.
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