PM moves to quell tensions over Essequibo Region

Prime Minister, Dr Ralph Gonsalves returned home on Wednesday, March 19, 2025 after holding talks in Venezuela with President Nicolas Maduro, as tensions continued to rise between Guyana and Venezuela over the disputed Essequibo region.

The Prime Minister, who left the state on Monday, met with President Maduro on Monday and laster with Guyana’s President, Irfaan Ali, in a bid to get the leaders hold true to the Argyle Declaration, which they signed onto in December 2023,  with himself acting as an interlocutor.

The Prime Minister spoke with President of Guyana Dr. Irfaan Ali on Monday, urging calm and restraint and for both parties to return to diplomacy.

The Prime Minister also cautioned that an escalation into open conflict could devastate both nations economically and socially, and destabilized the entire Latin America and

Caribbean region, potentially leaving it with a humanitarian and refugee crisis.  He advised both parties to resolve the matter so it does not lead to any open conflict.

The Argyle Declaration was signed at the Argyle International Airport (AIA) on Thursday, December 14, 2023, between President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana Irfaan Ali, and President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro.

The leaders had then reiterated their commitment to Latin America and the Caribbean remaining a Zone of Peace. (API)