Guyana confident of favourable ICJ ruling this year – Border controversy case

The Guyana Government is confident of a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) this year to settle the longstanding border controversy with Venezuela, according to Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Hugh Todd.
Speaking with reporters on the side-lines of an event on Thursday, Minister Todd indicated that there should not be any delays in the ongoing border controversy case before the World Court given the recent developments in neighbouring Venezuela.
In fact, the Minister declared his confidence in a favourable ruling coming Guyana’s way later this year.

“You’ve seen the performance of the legal team over the last several years.  And I think you are confident also in the team, as we are confident. I think we have a very strong team, and we are very focused.  But of course, we have to remain cautious.  But we are very confident that we will have a ruling in our favour,” Todd stressed.

Oral arguments
Currently, Guyana’s legal team is awaiting a date for oral arguments to be heard on the merits of the case before the ICJ deliberates on its final judgement, which will be binding on the two countries.
Guyana has already filed two written pleadings on the merits of the case, and Venezuela has also filed two – the last in August 2025.
Back in March 2018, Guyana had moved to the ICJ, seeking a final and binding settlement of the 1899 Arbitral Award, which established the boundaries with Venezuela.

The Spanish-speaking nation is claiming 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 Guyana.
In recent years, however, there has been heightened aggression from Venezuela towards Guyana, including as recently as last year, despite the case pending before the World Court, which had even had to issue two sets of provisional measures to restrain Venezuela and ease rising tensions between the two South American nations.

Maduro capture
But with the recent capture and toppling of the Nicolás Maduro regime in Caracas by the United States on January 3, that aggression is likely to wane – something which the Government of Guyana welcomes.
“The President has spoken extensively on ensuring that we protect the people of Guyana, to ensure our resources are protected, and to ensure that everyone can go to bed at night feeling safe, knowing that they can get up the next day and go to work and go about their business.  And I think we’ve achieved that.  We want to maintain that.”
“The President is actively engaged with his international partners, or with our international partners, so that you can rest assured that he will explore every option available to ensure that Guyana and the people of this country are safe,” Minister Todd told reporters on Thursday.
Moreover, one of Guyana’s agents in the ICJ case, Carl Greenidge, believes that the latest developments in Venezuela could see a reduction in military aggression against Guyana.
“The change in the relationship between Venezuela and the U.S. in the immediate future is likely to put on hold Venezuela’s military ambitions towards Guyana because I don’t think they’ll be in a position to realise that,” Greenidge, a former Foreign Affairs Minister, recently told local news agency OilNOW.
An early morning operation on January 3 saw US troops removing Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their home on a military base in downtown Caracas and transporting them to New York, where they were subsequently arraigned on narcotics charges.
Following the US strikes in Venezuela, security forces at Guyana’s borders with the Spanish-speaking nation have heightened their surveillance, and while there have not been any unusual activities, they are not relenting.
“To date, we have not seen, thankfully, we have not seen anything unusual. It’s just what we consider the routine activities of people on the frontier. But we will not fall into any false sense of security and believe that everything is back to normal,” Prime Minister Brigadier Ret’d Mark Phillips said during an appearance on the Starting Point podcast, which was streamed last weekend.
Meanwhile, following the US strikes and capture of the Venezuelan leader, President Donald Trump says the US will run the Spanish-speaking nation until a proper transition can take place in Caracas.

Priority of Guyanese safety and security
This development had sparked concerns of an expansionism plan by the North American powerhouse – something which President Dr Irfaan Ali had already shut down.
“My priority is the safety and security of the Guyanese people and the integrity of our borders, our territorial integrity and our sovereignty. And nothing in that relation will ever be compromised,” President Ali declared to reporters during an interview on the side-lines of an event on January 10.
According to the Head of State, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces in Guyana, “…our allies and development partners are with us on that.”
In fact, President Ali had a telephone engagement with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on January 6 to discuss the developments in Venezuela.
A statement following the phone meeting detailed that “President Ali welcomed Secretary Rubio’s reaffirmation of the US continued support for and partnership with Guyana in defence of our sovereignty and territorial integrity.