War-mongering Maduro is the real imperialist
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HMS Trent, a Royal Navy patrol vessel, has cruised all the way from Gibraltar to the Caribbean, making a stop in Barbados and arriving this Thursday in Guyana. The ship’s arrival and the joint exercises scheduled are a show of support from the British to its former colony, which has been sounding alarms about potential conflict with Nicolás Maduro’s Venezuela for months now.
Two weeks ago, Caracas and Georgetown produced a Joint Declaration of Argyle for Dialogue and Peace after peace talks in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Evidently, though, the tiny South American country wants more than words. After all, just a week before the talks, Maduro doubled-down on his desire to take over more than two-thirds of Guyana’s lands, authorizing the exploration of resources in the contested area.
What for Guyana is part of its deterrence strategy has been defined as a threat by Venezuelan Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino López, who claimed on Sunday that the sending of the British warship directly contradicts Guyanese President Irfaan Ali’s promise of reducing tensions. “A warship in waters yet to be demarcated? What happened to the commitment to good neighborliness and peaceful coexistence? And the agreement not to threaten or use force against each other under any circumstances?,” asked López from his X account. “We remain alert to these provocations that put the peace and stability of the Caribbean and our America at risk!”
Following the vessel’s arrival, Maduro went further than López, vowing to punch back if threatened. At the New Year’s Eve Greeting Ceremony to the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB), the Venezuelan president “categorically” rejected Guyana’s welcoming of the ship, arguing that it constitutes hostile provocation, violating the Argyle Declaration. “It is the threat of the United Kingdom against a noble, peaceful, but warlike people: the people of Venezuela,” he added.
“Venezuela has respected the Argyle agreements, but it cannot remain with its arms crossed in the face of a threat no matter where it comes from,” Maduro said, noting that his government will respond “in proportion to the threat they are making.” As such, he ordered the activation of the “General Domingo Antonio Sifontes” Joint Action, which involves the moving of Venezuelan forces to the eastern Caribbean as a response to what Maduro labels British provocation. “Venezuela has the right to defend itself, to tranquility, to peace. We do not accept provocations, threats from anything or anyone. Venezuela, with great firmness and patriotism, will respond to the threat and provocation.”
In the eyes of Guyanese officials, Maduro’s combative statements are further evidence of an attempt to invert the roles of the victim and the aggressor. After all, it is militarily weak and sparsely populated Guyana that has more reasons to fear direct conflict with Venezuela, which is why Georgetown would rather describe its joint exercises with Britain and the United States as defensive measures.
Whether sending the ship was the right thing to do or not, what is certain is that Maduro and his allies are using the move to portray their cause as anti-imperialistic – even when it may entail, well, taking another country’s territory. Bolivian diplomat Sacha Llorenti joined the Venezuelan government, labeling HMS Trent’s arrival “a hostile act against the Latin American Proclamation and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace” and calling for the rejection of the “colonial act.”
The “who is the imperialist” games have just begun, and Maduro sure knows how to play them. Will he be able to further guilt-trip Western left-wingers into siding with him? Possibly. The future, though, remains uncertain.
