Orville Taylor | A new Carta de Jamaica Peace, or no piece

At last count there were almost 40,000 Venezuelans seeking to escape their country and finding refuge in Trinidad and Tobago. Never mind the fact that Guyana is actually part of South America and thus, geographically not Caribbean, it is absolutely a member of the West Indies, and most important, it is part of the proud body comprising regional states, which we call the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Venezuelans make it to Trinidad because of its proximity, lying a mere 757 kilometres away. Venezuela borders Guyana, which is only 695 kilometres adrift. We have been on the whole very friendly to the Spanish-speaking neighbour, and in 2022 the UN launched a $1.72-billion fund to handle the wave of refugees and migrants from the troubled nation. Disquiet in Venezuela hurts us all.

The combined population of the entire CARICOM region, excluding Haiti, is approximately six million, and even with the inclusion of Suriname, which is just a stone’s throw away from both Guyana and Venezuela, the region’s population is still dwarfed by Venezuela’s 28 million.

Inasmuch as the region has historically a warm relationship with the Latin American nation, and indeed, we have benefited immensely from its Petrocaribe deal; we say, “CARICOM!; not Venezuela bring come!”

Our loyalty is to CARICOM on the whole, but most definitively, to its core, the Anglophone nations, which despite our poor showing in cricket, are not as easy to beat as it may appear. Touch one, touch all.

Significantly, when necessary, we have a Big Brother, or rather uncle, whose surname might be Washington or something like that, I’m uncertain. However, his first name is Samuel and we call him Uncle Sam for short.

President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela must know a little about history, and in one fell swoop he spits in the face of the United States of America while simultaneously coughing to produce more mucus to spread across the region. He has had two strikes already and he must be mindful of the number three.

HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE

Years ending with ‘3’ have historic significance. Simon Bolivar, in 1813, had led an abortive independence movement and had to find refuge for the better part of a year in a domicile in western Kingston, at the corner of Princess and Tower streets. Had he been hiding from the Americans; he would have found no solace here.

Just 40 years ago, in 1983, the American government responded with a determination and swiftness that he should be mindful of. Maduro was 21 years old when CARICOM, under the leadership of Edward Seaga, invited troops from up north. At least 19 American military combatants were killed and another 116 were wounded. Other civilian and suspected international fighters died and were also injured. However, let it be instructive that Americans died in quashing an internal CARICOM conflict among its friends; what does Maduro think will happen, if he invades Guyana?

With a population of 125,000 Guyanese citizens, including many indigenous nations, as it stands now, the Essequibo Region, bordering Venezuela’s undisputed territory, is part of Guyana. On December 2, 2023, exactly 200 years after American President James Monroe introduced the Monroe Doctrine, Maduro decided to schedule a national referendum to back his claim to the region and thus wrench it away from our CARICOM brother. Unless there is a different one than its official map of 1811 and 1823, there is no Essequibo drawn in the original Venezuelan independent state. Some 95 per cent of Venezuelans now support Maduro’s assertions and his declaration that he is going to start exploiting the resources of the territory, still recognised as part of Guyana.

In 1841, Venezuela disputed the border delineation from the British government, then ‘owners’ of the colony of British Guiana, which claimed the region as part of the territory.

After Bolivar ‘wappy back’ and ultimately won the war of independence, the last Royalist troops surrendered in October 1823.

DELIBERATE AFFRONT

Maduro’s timing of the referendum looks like a deliberate affront to the influence of the US in the region. The December 2, Monroe Doctrine, essentially stated that the Americas were considered to be the front yard or backyard of the United States. Therefore, any European nation seeking to assert control over any population of people or territory in this hemisphere would be considered to be an act of hostility against the USA.

Of course, the newly self-declared independent Venezuela might not have been on the American radar, not being a colonial power itself. Nonetheless, the spirit of the warning should still soak in.

In 1899, an international tribunal declared that until the two countries arrive at a position to vary the status quo, the territory should remain Guyanese. Venezuela later repudiated the ruling, because its ‘interests’ had been represented by the American government. But, remember, this is America’s sidewalk. Nothing has happened to vary the award of the tribunal. Therefore, Maduro has no legal leg to stand on. Might doesn’t make right. Furthermore, two weeks ago, The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in an effective injunction that Venezuela should “refrain from taking any action which would modify that situation that currently prevails”.

True, Venezuela does not recognise the ICJ, and it is always free to have an internal referendum, which merely indicates what popular sentiments in Maduro’s neck of the woods are. However, the UN does give it authority and Maduro, whose surname is the common moniker for ‘ripe plantains’, should ask what Jamaicans say about what happens when plantains ripen or shoot.

He struck twice already and got away. This time, if he seeks to enter into and start mining the mineral deposits, he will not strike oil. Neither will he get a home run nor made to walk to the next base if he swings this time.

He will strike out.

Dr Orville Taylor is senior lecturer at the Department of Sociology at The University of the West Indies, a radio talk-show host, and author of ‘Broken Promises, Hearts and Pockets’. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and tayloronblackline@hotmail.com.