Leaders from Venezuela and Guyana are expected to meet TODAY! Can they come to some kind of agreement without a war?

The escalation in Guyana’s border dispute with Venezuela has put a lot of people on edge… Nobody wins when the family feuds, right? So leaders from the region have arranged for a sit down between both countries to try and hash out a 100-year old dispute over the Essequbio region. 

Venezuelan and Guyanese officials, including Presidents Nicholas Maduro and Irfaan Ali, have agreed to meet in St Vincent and Grenadines to discuss the latest developments in the conflict. 

The meeting comes just over a week after Venezuela’s controversial referendum.

On December 3, Venezuelans voted to approve the Government’s plan to establish a new Venezuelan state in the region of Essequibo and grant Venezuelan citizenship to all current and future residents. The Government even unveiled a new map that shows Essequibo as part of Venezuela.

The problem of course is that Essequbio makes up about two-thirds of Guyana and has been under Guyanese rule for the last 100 years. Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali said Venezuela’s plans are essentially annexing a part of their country.

And that’s the last thing Guyana wants because the region has been a goldmine for oil deposits. Guyana has discovered over 11 billion barrels of oil in that region already. Which also explains why Venezuela is so intent on claiming it.

You can watch my other videos and the latest episode of Taking Stock for more details on the history of the conflict.

Guyana insists that the International Court of Justice should be the one to have the final decision on the border issue but Venezuela disagrees. And since everyone wants to avoid a war, a sit down is the next best thing.

Other leaders, including Brazilian President Inacio Lula da Silva, have also been invited to the meeting. Brazil is literally stuck in the middle of this potential war and has been amping up its military operations… just in case.

Meanwhile, CARICOM has thrown their support behind Guyana.  In a statement, they said, “Caricom firmly supports Guyana in pursuance of the resolution of its border controversy with Venezuela through the process of the ICJ.”

And this stance is probably what most people expected given that Guyana is our Caricom sister-country and the seat of Caricom headquarters. 

But you never know enuh, because just a few years ago, all of Caricom was benefiting from the Petro Caribe oil deal with Venezuela.

So let’s see what, if any agreement, comes from today’s meeting… and that’s the bottom line.