Guyana condemns attack on GDF soldiers

• calls on Venezuela to probe incident 

The government has strongly condemned three separate attacks on its troops of the Guyana Defence Force, who were conducting riverine patrols, by armed men in civilian clothing on the Venezuelan shore along the Cuyuni River between Eteringbang and Makapa.

The attacks occurred between 13^th May, 2025 and 15^th May, 2025.

In a statement to the media corps, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said that via diplomatic communication to the Ministry People’s Power for Foreign Relations of the Bolivarian Republic   of Venezuela, it “has registered its condemnation of these   attacks   and requested that a thorough investigation be carried out by the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the perpetrators be apprehended and brought to justice.”

The Ministry noted that “the Guyana Defence Force took appropriate action, and no rank sustained any injuries”.

“The Ministry recalled to the Ministry of People’s Power for Foreign Relations of Venezuela a similar incident which occurred on February 17, 2025, immediately after which Guyana insisted that Venezuela take action to prevent further attacks on Guyana Defence Force soldiers from Venezuelan territory and apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators,” the Ministry said in its statement.

It also said the Ministry intends, as it did with the incident of February 17, 2025, to bring these latest incidents to the attention of the International Community.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, in coordination with other responsible government Ministries, will continue to monitor the situation and take all appropriate action where necessary,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, the Guyana Defence Force said, in an earlier statement, that it remains resolute in its mission to protect Guyana’s territorial integrity and ensure the safety of its citizens.

“It will continue to respond to acts of aggression along the Guyana-Venezuela border and will maintain regular patrols along the Cuyuni River. The public is assured that the Guyana Defence Force is taking all necessary measures to safeguard the nation’s borders and maintain peace and security within our beloved country,” the GDF said.

Most recently, the foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) nations issued a joint statement on March 14, 2025, in support of Guyana – reiterating their call for the restoration of democracy in Venezuela and condemning actions by President Nicolás Maduro’s government that they say undermine democratic principles and regional stability.

The foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the High Representative of the European Union underscored concerns over Venezuela’s internal political situation and they strongly condemned recent actions by Venezuelan naval vessels, which they described as threats to Guyana’s commercial operations.

The ministers underscored their commitment to upholding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations, reaffirming these principles as essential to maintaining international order and regional peace.

Guyana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has since filed a new case at the ICJ, seeking emergency measures to halt Venezuela’s plans to hold an election in Essequibo.

The ICJ is expected to address new requests for provisional measures, given Venezuela’s announcement that it will soon hold elections in Guyana’s Essequibo region. Guyana has argued to the ICJ that the conduct of Venezuelan elections, which are scheduled for 25 May 2025, as well as all preparatory acts in the disputed territory leading to the holding of such elections, would violate “Guyana’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence, as well as the Court’s Order [on the indication of provisional measures] of 1 December 2023”.

INCURSION INTO GUYANA’S WATERS

Venezuela’s recent aggression occurred on March 1, 2025, around 07:00 hours when Venezuelan Naval Vessel ABV Guaiqueiri sailed approximately 700 metres in Guyana’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), near FPSO PROSPERITY.

The Venezuelan naval vessel communicated threateningly via radio communication that FPSO PROSPERITY was operating in Venezuela’s EEZ before continuing in a Southwestern direction towards other FPSOs, to which it delivered the same message.

The incursion drew swift condemnation from the Guyanese government, CARICOM, the Organization of American States (OAS), the Commonwealth, and key Western nations, including the US, the UK, and France.

ICJ PROCESS

On 29 March 2018, Guyana filed an application instituting proceedings against Venezuela with respect to a dispute concerning “the legal validity and binding effect of the Award regarding the Boundary between the Colony of British Guiana and the United States of Venezuela, of 3 October 1899”.

As basis for the jurisdiction of the Court, the Applicant invokes Article IV, paragraph 2, of the “Agreement to Resolve the Controversy between Venezuela and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland over the Frontier between Venezuela and British Guiana”, signed at Geneva on 17 February 1966, and the decision of 30 January 2018 by which the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in accordance with that Agreement, chose the Court as the means to be used for the settlement of the controversy.

On 18 June 2018, Venezuela informed the Court that it considered that the Court manifestly lacked jurisdiction to hear the case and that it had decided not to take part in the proceedings. The Court then decided to address first the question of its jurisdiction.

In its judgment delivered on 18 December 2020, the Court found that it had jurisdiction to entertain the Application filed by Guyana in so far as it concerned the validity of the Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899 and the related question of the definitive settlement of the land boundary dispute between Guyana and Venezuela.

Further to the filing of preliminary objections by Venezuela on 7 June 2022, the Court, in its Judgment of 6 April 2023, rejected Venezuela’s preliminary objection concerning the exercise of the Court’s jurisdiction and found that it could adjudicate upon the merits of Guyana’s claims, in so far as they fall within the scope of the Court’s jurisdiction as defined in the operative clause of its Judgment of 18 December 2020.

On 30 October 2023, Guyana filed a Request for the indication of provisional measures due to its concern over the Government of Venezuela’s stated intention to hold a so-called “Consultative Referendum” on 3 December 2023 regarding the purported creation of the State of “Guayana Esequiba” within Venezuela, comprising the territory at issue in the current proceedings.

In its Order of 1 December 2023, the Court stated that, in light of the strong tension that characterized the relations between the Parties, it considered that the conduct of Venezuela — in organizing such a referendum and asserting that it would take concrete action on the basis of the results of that referendum — presented a serious risk of Venezuela acquiring and exercising control and administration of the territory in dispute. The Court therefore directed Venezuela to refrain from taking any action, pending a final decision in the case, which would modify the situation that currently prevails in the territory in dispute, whereby Guyana administers and exercises control over that area.

The Court further instructed both Parties to refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute or make it more difficult to resolve.