PM Gonsalves meets with Maduro as Venezuela’s provocations threaten Guyana’s sovereignty over Essequibo

St Vincent and the Grenadines, Prime Minister, Ralph Gonsalves traveled to Venezuela to meet with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in an effort to deescalate tensions being stoked by the Spanish speaking nation over Guyana’s Essequibo territory which it unjustly claims.
It was only in December of 2023 that Guyana and Venezuela signed the Argyle agreement in St Vincent, overseen by Gonsalves himself. That agreement had prohibited both countries from acts that could escalate the border controversy over Essequibo. However, since then Venezuela has repeatedly breached its terms.
Gonsalves, who served as an interlocutor between Guyana and Venezuela to get the two countries to agree to peace, is once again stepping in to deescalate tensions. This time, he traveled to Venezuela, to meet with Maduro on Tuesday over the latter’s continued acts of provocation.
In a statement issued by the St Vincent Government, it was explained that Gonsalves traveled to Venezuela on Monday. Further, it was revealed that Gonsalves also spoke to Ali on Monday, presumably via phone, to urge calm and restraint.

“Dr Gonsalves also cautioned that an escalation into open conflict could devastate both nations economically and socially, and destabilised the entire Latin America and Caribbean region, potentially leaving us with a humanitarian and refugee crisis. He advised both parties to resolve the matter so it does not lead to any open conflict,” the statement said.
Venezuela has continuously made provocative actions and rhetoric against Guyana over its unjust claims for Guyana’s Essequibo region, indicating plans to hold elections on May 25, 2025, to appoint a Governor and other leaders for Guyana’s Essequibo region. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has since given the Venezuelan Government, until the end of March to explain its recent provocative actions.
This directive followed the Guyana Government’s request for the ICJ to block Venezuela’s attempt to hold the unlawful elections in the Essequibo region, which accounts for two-thirds of Guyana’s landmass. The Guyanese Government informed the ICJ that such actions by Venezuela “flagrantly violate” the provisional measures issued by the court in December 2023.

Guyana asked the court to order Venezuela to refrain from any acts within or affecting its sovereign territory, including the Essequibo region. Guyana informed the World Court that the planned Venezuelan elections would inevitably be preceded by preparatory acts, including acts within Guyana’s Essequibo region, affecting the Guyanese population and Guyana’s sovereignty over its territory.
This is the second time Guyana has sought provisional measures from the World Court, which is currently hearing the case to settle the decades-old border controversy between the two South American neighbours.
Guyana initiated the case back in March 2018, asking the ICJ to affirm in a final and binding ruling that the 1899 Arbitral Award, which determined the international boundary with Venezuela, is legally valid.
Then, in February 17, 2025, six members of the Guyana Defense Force (GDF) came under attack by Venezuelan men on the border. The February 17 attack injured the six troops – all with gunshot wounds. Initial reports had indicated that some of the Venezuelan men died, after the soldiers returned fire.
On March 1, a Venezuelan naval vessel entered Guyana’s waters where ExxonMobil’s Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels are located, in an act of intimidation that has since been roundly condemned by Guyana and the international community.
Following the Venezuelan vessel’s incursion, the Guyana Government activated a series of responses, including the deployment of military resources offshore, engaging the international community and sending a formal protest note to Caracas.
Guyana reaffirmed that all activities authorised by its Government within its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) fall entirely within the maritime area adjacent to its sovereign coastal territory, as defined by the Arbitral Award of 1899.