Post #1424

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro will meet with Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali on December 14 to address the ongoing Essequibo controversy amidst increased tensions and threats of military deployment. The meeting will be hosted by the Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, who sent a letter Saturday to Maduro and Ali urging them to “de-escalate the conflict and institute an appropriate dialogue.” In his letter, Gonsalves said that both Guyana and Venezuela had agreed to talk with mediation from Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a United Nations (UN) representative and the leaderships of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), of which St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Dominica hold the respective pro tempore presidencies. “Both of you are on public record for committing to the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace and the maintenance of international law,” Gonsalves reminded the Venezuelan and Guyanese heads of state, adding that “time is of the essence” and that much was “at stake.” https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/presidents-of-guyana-and-venezuela-to-hold-summit-on-essequibo-dispute/