According to a statement from the Foreign Ministry, during the meeting the top diplomat said that this and other activities by Caracas in the disputed area violate Guyana’s sovereignty and also international laws, which demand a halt to the deployment of Venezuelan personnel, facilities and equipment.

He stressed Georgetown’s compliance with the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the border dispute, issued a year ago, which calls on both countries to refrain from proceeding with actions that aggravate the situation.

Separately, Guyanese President, Irfaan Ali, ordered the Foreign Ministry to notify the ICJ, international partners and other nations in the area in writing of the condemnation of the construction by the Venezuelan Army of a bridge to connect the mainland with the remote river island of Anacoco.

He also reiterated that respect for diplomacy should be the main element in the national defense’s strategy, in the face of what he considered “threats to the territorial integrity and sovereignty” of the country.

Venezuelan Defense Minister, Vladimir Padrino, on the other hand, countered the argument, saying that the structure replaces a provisional one erected a year ago, that it is not a military occupation of space and the objective is to promote national development, since a rural school and a dispensary were inaugurated together.

The island has seven square kilometers in the Cuyuní River, where the Venezuelan armed forces have maintained a presence since 1966.

The two States have had differences for more than a century over the Essequibo, an area of around 160 thousand square kilometers.

By the end of 2023 the controversy worsened, with complaints from the Bolivarian Republic regarding tenders to oil transnationals in undelimited waters.

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