A former Venezuela envoy to Guyana, Sadio Garavini di Turno, has openly criticized the Nicolas Maduro government’s decision to hold a referendum on the Essequibo territorial claim, labeling it not just as useless but also harmful to the country’s interests. His remarks come as the nation grapples with a deep socio-economic crisis and the approach of the 2024 elections.
Guyana’s Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo shared Garavino di Turno’s letter with local press during a recent conference, as he discussed Venezuela’s overtures, including the planned referendum.
In the referendum, citizens are asked to answer a set of questions that, according to Garavini di Turno, include two that are “absolutely inconsequential” and reminiscent of being asked: “Do you love your Mom?” He argues that the questions are crafted to shift the public focus from internal failures and stir up nationalist sentiment.
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One question asks whether the Geneva Agreement of 1966 should be the sole instrument to resolve the territorial controversy, seemingly ignoring that the United Nations has already referred the case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Here, Garavini di Turno points out the omission that past UN Secretary-Generals and the ICJ have interpreted the Agreement in such a way that allowed the matter to be escalated to the ICJ. This process is currently underway, and Garavini di Turno said Venezuela has implicitly accepted the court’s jurisdiction by participating in it.
Another question in the referendum seeks consensus on not recognizing the jurisdiction of the ICJ, which Garavini di Turno suggests is a ploy by the Maduro government to withdraw from the judicial process that has not been going in its favor. He adds that regardless of Venezuela’s participation, the ICJ would continue and ultimately issue a binding judgment.
Further scrutinizing the referendum’s contents, he deems the question regarding the creation of a new Venezuelan state in the Essequibo region as “unrealistic” and one that has provided Guyana and other CARICOM nations grounds to claim that Venezuela harbors intentions of military occupation. The Venezuela government has said it would give citizenship to Essequibo’s inhabitants. But the former Venezuela ambassador said, “It is ridiculous to think that the Essequibans, who live in the world’s fastest-growing economy, could be interested in citizenship in a country in the midst of a socio-economic disaster and from which more than 7 million inhabitants have emigrated in a few years, 35,000 of them to Guyana itself.”
Garavini di Turno also critiques the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry’s move to call for bilateral negotiations with the Guyanese government after having labeled them as puppets of ExxonMobil and the US Southern Command. This, he asserts, is indicative of an “irresponsible” and “very unserious” approach.
The former ambassador interprets the referendum as a maneuver by the Maduro government to distract attention from the “enormous socio-economic failure” ahead of the upcoming elections. He concludes by emphasizing that the responsible action for Venezuela would be to prepare to defend its position at the ICJ with the aid of national and international experts, questioning if such preparations are in place.
