Venezuela remembers today, 25 years later, the electoral victory of Hugo Chávez that changed its history and that of Latin America. Then began the trip to hell of a country that returned to the polls on Sunday to launch Nicolás Maduro’s war games, which include the annexation by law of Guyana Esequibaterritory in dispute with the neighboring country.
“Guyana must know that fix this the right way or we’ll fix it“, threatened on Tuesday president people surrounded by all the powers of the revolution and the military. His first measures are summarized in a new map of Venezuelawhich includes the 159,000 kilometers (156 times the size of Margarita Island, which also represents two thirds of the Guyanese territory) of the one baptized as Guayana Drought.
Its military base and administrative capital, which will grant identity cards to the inhabitants of Essequibo, will be in Tumeremo, 90 kilometers from the border. At the forefront of military deployment the major general has been placed as the sole authority Alexis Rodriguez Cabellocousin of the number two of the revolution, Diosdado Cabello.
The impact in Guyana of Caracas’ unilateral measures has not been long in coming. Irfan Ali, guyanese presidenthas appeared on public television to ask the population for calm and announce that his troops are on maximum alert. “We are facing an imminent threat, Venezuela has declared itself a country outside the law. We are preparing to defend what is ours“argued the president, who vehemently assured that he has the military support of the United States and the backing of the 15 countries of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), Great Britain and the Commonwealth.
Faced with such an escalation, the government of Brazil has decided to strengthen the presence of its troops on the triple border with Venezuela and Guyana with the sending of 600 soldiers, despite President Lula da Silva’s calls for peace.