Country supports nomination of Marco Rubio as US Secretary of State

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC):

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has welcomed the nomination of Marco Rubio for the position of United States Secretary of State, saying that Guyana remains optimistic that the “good working relations” with the United States will continue with the Donald Trump administration.

“We are also pleased that Senator Rubio will be the Secretary of State because he is very much aware of the issue with Venezuela and that is a crucial issue for us,” Jagdeo told reporters at his weekly news conference.

He said he hopes the Trump-led administration, which takes up office in January next year, will continue to support Guyana in its fight for territorial integrity.

“He is aware of the Venezuelan issue and we expect strong solidarity from him and President [elect] Trump on the Guyana/Venezuela border controversy which is now before the ICJ (International Court of Justice),” Jagdeo noted.

Venezuela has until December 9 this year to file its response to the pleadings made by Guyana before the ICJ on the border controversy.

Guyana applied to the ICJ in 2018 to have the 1899 Arbitral Award, which established the border between Venezuela and the then-British Guiana, confirmed as legally enforceable. The 1899 ruling was likewise cited in this application as a ‘full, perfect, and final settlement’ of all issues pertaining to drawing the borders between Venezuela and the British Guiana province.

Venezuela has claimed ownership of the Essequibo, an oil-rich region that makes up about two-thirds of Guyana and is home to 125,000 of its 800,000 citizens.

Jagdeo told reporters that Georgetown was optimistic regarding the Trump’s administration support for Guyana in the border dispute, reminding journalists that “Senator Rubio wrote the Biden Administration when they vetoed the loan to Guyana … saying this should not happen. They never should have vetoed that loan at the IDB (Inter American Development Bank),” Jagdeo said.

In October 2022, the United States used its voting power on the board of the IDB to deny Guyana Shore Base Incorporated a US$180 million loan after it had gone through a two-year approval process.