Guyana’s Vice President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo says: “All options are on the table for the defense of our country… So far, we have robustly explored the legal route and we’ve had success there, we’ve explored the diplomatic route and we’ve had overwhelming success there…And we’re now exploring defense co-operation with several countries.”
This as Venezuela is openly defying the unanimous ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and going full speed ahead with its planned referendum, that is scheduled for today.
Dr Jagdeo highlighted Venezuela’s “aggressive” intent on Guyana’s Essequibo region and said if the Spanish-speaking country decides to act in contravention to the ruling, no efforts will be spared to protect what is ours. Jagdeo said that that Guyana’s borders will remain intact and all options are on the table to protect the nation’s territorial sovereignty.
The Guyanese VP opined: “For them, it’s an internal matter. It’s a matter of pride for the Venezuelan leadership now. For them to back down at this stage will mean that they’ve suffered a defeat and it may harm them politically because they’re contesting elections next year…” the Vice President noted, adding that the Spanish-speaking country may just forge ahead with the referendum despite the explicit and unanimous ruling by the ICJ.
Dr Jagdeo further stated that one should not fall prey and listen to Venezuela’s leadership because within the past few months, the country has shown that “they’re very prone to rhetoric and aggression.” Speaking more on the ruling from the ICJ, the Vice President said, “This is a great ruling for Guyana; we’re extremely pleased with it. The court made it clear that their decision is binding on the parties and on Venezuela.