BRASILIA, Brazil — A Venezuelan government official on Tuesday voiced formal objections to infrastructure projects that would pass through Guyana’s Essequibo Region, describing any such plans as premature while a border dispute remains unresolved between the two South American countries.
Raúl Licausi, Venezuela’s Vice Foreign Minister for the Caribbean, raised his concerns during a panel discussion on regional connectivity at the Caribbean Development Bank’s (CDB) 55th Annual Meeting in Brasilia. The session focused on strengthening physical links between Brazil and the Caribbean, including proposals that involve Guyanese territory.
“I must respectfully express a concern and a more formal objection,” Licausi told the audience. “The Guiana island corridor or route shown in the presentation crosses the territory of the Essequibo which is subject to a longstanding and unresolved territorial dispute between Venezuela and Guyana.”
Licausi insisted that no initiatives involving the Essequibo Region should proceed until the matter is resolved through diplomatic channels. He called for restraint, stating that any action should not assume a final territorial status. “Any initiative involving that area should avoid assuming a settled territorial status and should respect the existence of an ongoing controversy,” he said.
Despite the objection, Licausi reaffirmed Venezuela’s support for regional integration and expressed interest in participating in regional projects—just not in the disputed zone. Venezuela is a non-borrowing member of the CDB.
The Essequibo Region, which comprises about two-thirds of Guyana’s landmass, is administered by Guyana and appears as such on internationally recognized maps. However, Venezuela claims the territory, a disagreement rooted in the 19th century and now before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Following Licausi’s remarks, Guyanese representative Tarachand Balgobin, Head of the Project Cycle Management Division at the Ministry of Finance, acknowledged the sensitive nature of the comments but maintained focus on Guyana’s development goals.
“This is a very exciting conversation and I’m sorry that it has been dampened a little bit,” Balgobin said. “I’m from Guyana and I’m not intentioned to raise diplomatic issues at this forum.”
He pointed to key infrastructure projects in the pipeline, including the Linden-to-Lethem road and a proposed parallel railway line—both of which pass through the Essequibo Region. He also highlighted past collaboration with Brazil, including the Bon Fim-Lethem bridge and support for the broader Linden-Lethem corridor.
“The Guyana Shield has always been part of the IIRSA development agenda and we are pursuing that relentlessly,” Balgobin said, referring to the Initiative for the Integration of the Regional Infrastructure of South America.
With financing from the United Kingdom through the CDB, construction of the Linden-Mabura segment is already underway, leaving approximately 300 to 400 kilometers to connect the corridor to Lethem. Long-term plans include linking that corridor to a deep-water port in the Berbice River, creating new shipping options beyond Port Georgetown.
Back on the dispute, Licausi reiterated Venezuela’s preference for addressing the issue through the Geneva Agreement, a 1966 framework which Caracas interprets as requiring bilateral negotiations. Guyana, however, maintains that the matter is appropriately before the ICJ, where a decision is expected next year on the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award that established the current boundary.
While no other panelists responded to Licausi’s comments, the underlying tension was clear. For now, Guyana continues to push forward with development in the Essequibo, even as Venezuela maintains its objections.
