Commonwealth Ministerial Group condemns Venezuela’s provocations against Guyana

…urges adherence to ICJ process

The Commonwealth Ministerial Group on Guyana (CMGG) recently convened a meeting during which it condemned the provocations by Venezuela against Guyana and called on both parties to find a peaceful resolution to the ongoing border controversy, including adhering to the legal process currently before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for final settlement.
The meeting was convened on Thursday, September 11, by Commonwealth Secretary-General (GS) Shirley Botchwey upon a request from Guyana to provide an update on the decades-long border controversy with Venezuela.
The CMGG was chaired by Foreign Affairs Adviser of the interim Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Touhid Hossain, and attended by Foreign Ministers from Antigua and Barbuda, Canada and Jamaica, as well as representatives from Guyana and the United Kingdom (UK).

Since the Guyana Government is yet to swear–in its new Cabinet, the Chief of Protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Georgetown, Ambassador Ivan Evelyn, represented Guyana and updated the Ministerial Group on the ongoing border controversy and certain developments since the last meeting in September 2024.
According to a statement from the Commonwealth Secretariat following the meeting, “The Group noted with concern the reports from Guyana on the developments in Venezuela since the last CMGG meeting, including the holding of elections in Venezuela related to the Essequibo Region, contrary to the International Court of Justice Order of 1 May 2025; and the Group condemned the provocative action taken by a Venezuelan naval vessel in Guyana’s maritime waters on 1 March 2025.” Venezuela, which is laying spurious claims to more than two-thirds of Guyana’s landmass – the entire Essequibo region and a portion of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) where oil exploration and production activities are ongoing – had sent a naval vessel into Guyana’s water back in March.
The Venezuelan naval vessel, ABV Guaiqueir, had sailed approximately 700 metres in Guyana’s EEZ near the ExxonMobil-operated Prosperity Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) and communicated threateningly via radio communication that Prosperity was operating in Venezuela’s EEZ, before continuing in a southwestern direction towards other FPSOs, to which it delivered the same message. This incursion by the Spanish-speaking nation had attracted widespread global condemnation including from then–Commonwealth SG Patricia Scotland.
Moreover, the Nicolás Maduro regime had also threatened to hold elections on May 25, 2025, in Guyana’s Essequibo region to elect a governor – another widely criticised provocation from Caracas, though there were no such electoral activities held within Guyana’s territory on that day. “The Group recognised and commended Guyana’s exemplary conduct, in particular its restraint and adherence to international law,” the Commonwealth missive detailed.
In recognition of the fact that the ICJ has established its jurisdiction to hear the case to settle the border controversy between the two neighbouring states, the CMGG went on to encouraged the parties to continue to engage with the World Court as it proceeds in 2026 to the oral hearings on the merits of the case.
“The Group recognised that Guyana has pledged to accept the Court’s judgement. The Group urged Venezuela to also accept the final ruling of the Court,” the Commonwealth statement noted.

Ease the tension
Meanwhile, the Group further encouraged both Guyana and Venezuela to continue the work that began with the December 14, 2023 Argyle Declaration to improve relations between the two nations. During a meeting brokered by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and Brazil to ease tensions between the two nations, Guyana and Venezuela signed a declaration in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG). The agreement committed both parties to refrain from threatening or using force against one another under any circumstances, including those arising from existing disputes between the two states. They further committed to good neighbourliness, peaceful coexistence and the unity of LAC and refraining from escalating any conflict or disagreement, whether by words or deeds, among others.
Nevertheless, the Commonwealth missive added, “The Group reiterated its firm and steadfast support for the International Court of Justice process as the appropriate and lawful means to address the matter under international law.”
The CMGG further reaffirmed and called for the respect of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations, including Guyana, as an enduring value.
“Similarly, the Group confirmed its support for the preservation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Guyana, for Guyana’s right to self-defence, and for the unobstructed exercise of its right to develop the entirety of its territory for the benefit of its people,” the statement added. Following Thursday’s meeting, all Commonwealth Member Governments will be informed of the outcome of the meeting, and a report will be presented by the CMGG to the Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers’ Meeting later this month.
The CMGG was established at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 1999 to monitor “further developments in respect of the existing controversy between Guyana and Venezuela.” The current ministerial group includes Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Canada, Guyana, Jamaica, South Africa and the UK.