Denise DeFreitas was protesting Venezuela’s involvement in a border dispute involving her country and used the occasion of the visit of President Maduro to air her grouse.
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At the meeting, the countries had agreed to restore diplomatic ties, but that did not stop Granger from blasting Maduro during his address to the U.N. Tuesday, saying Venezuela, “mindful of its superior wealth and military strength and unmindful of its obligation as a member state of the United Nations… has pursued a path of intimidation and aggression”.
Venezuela began closing border crossings and expelling Colombians on August. 19, in what the government has said were measures necessary to crack down on contraband and violence.
In his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, Guyana’s president David Granger accused his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduro, of cross-border bullying.
Noting the presence during the annual General Debate of world leaders, including the President of the United States, Mr. Moros said that rather than edicts from certain countries, he would rather talk about a “philosophy of peace”. He also revoked accreditation for Guyana’s ambassador to Venezuela.
The purported annexation of the waters off Essequibo now takes in the oil-rich Stabroek Block, where American oil giant Exxon Mobil in May found a “significant” reserve of high quality crude oil. The company has declined to comment on the dispute.
The Essequibo, a sparsely populated region of thick jungle, functions in practice as part of Guyana.
Guyana says Caracas agreed to relinquish the Essequibo following a ruling by an global tribunal in 1899, but that Venezuela later backtracked on that decision.
“For 50 years Venezuela has promulgated spurious decrees claiming our territory, the most recent being on May 26th, 2015, our Independence anniversary, when it issued Decree No 1.787 with specified coordinates purporting to annex nearly our entire maritime zone”.
Maduro said a technical committee would tackle the territorial dispute between the two countries.
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President Nicolas Maduro will let over 1,500 deported Colombians return to Venezuela and legalize their status, regional bloc UNASUR said yesterday, in a further easing of tensions between the two South American neighbours.
