Guyana’s Sovereignty over the Cuyuni River – By Odeen Ishmael

Guyana’s Sovereignty over the Cuyuni River –  Guyana-Venezuela relations…

– By Odeen Ishmael

During September 2015 when Venezuela flexed its military muscles near the border with Guyana, that country’s military patrol boats blatantly breached Guyana’s sovereignty by traversing the Cuyuni River at locations between its junctions with the Acarabisi River (to the east) and the Wenamu River (to the west). Guyana owns this entire section of the Cuyuni River which forms part of the border with Venezuela.

On September 23, the head of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Brigadier Mark Phillips, confirmed that the Venezuelans were using military boats in the Cuyuni River to shuttle troops between the village of San Martin on the northern bank to the Venezuelan-occupied Guyanese section of Ankoko Island. This action, he emphasized, was “an affront to our sovereignty.”  

While it is normal for Venezuelan civilians residing on the northern bank of the river, to use it for basic transportation and for domestic purposes, by international law Venezuelan military forces can enter the river east of the Wenamu only with the permission of the Guyana government.

Read more: https://odeenishmael.wordpress.com/2015/10/29/guyanas-sovereignty-over-the-cuyuni-river/