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<h1 class="title">US Targets Venezuela Using Border Dispute as
Pretext</h1>
<div class="submitted">
<p class="byline"> By <span class="author">Eric Draitser- TeleSUR
English</span>, <span class="date">July 22nd 2015<br>
<b><small><small><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/11450">http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/11450</a></small></small></b><br>
</span> </p>
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<p>The ongoing border dispute between the Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela and its eastern neighbor Guyana is no simple
disagreement over an arbitrary line on a map. Actually, it is a
conflict of significant political and economic dimensions, one
which will have deep and far-reaching geopolitical implications in
the near and long term. <br>
<br>
The area in question is known as Guayana Esequiba (Essequibo), a
region with competing territorial claims going back more than a
century to a time when British imperial interests dominated the
contours of the political map of much of the world, including
Latin America. Since 1966, when Guyana became a nominally
independent country, this territory has been under dispute by the
interested parties; Venezuela has claimed the territory as part of
its sovereign authority going back to an odious 1899 decision in
favor of Britain. However, that has not stopped Guyana from
seeking to undermine the stability of the region by claiming de
facto sovereignty over the whole of the territory, selling highly
valued oil and gas exploration concessions to key North American
corporate energy interests. These actions have led to an
intensification of the conflict, forcing Venezuela to respond with
diplomatic and political pressure. <br>
<br>
But of course, as with all things pertaining to Venezuela on the
international stage, there is a hidden agenda rooted in the
imperial politics of Washington. In its attempt to stifle
Venezuela’s political and economic development as an independent
regional actor, the US is using its influence to destabilize the
region. The goals are distinct, but intimately connected: enrich
US energy corporations at the expense of Venezuela and,
simultaneously, both position military assets and shape propaganda
that paints Venezuela as an aggressor, thereby providing the
pretext for US escalation. In this way, Washington is attempting
to reassert by stealth the hegemony it once maintained with brute
force. <br>
<br>
<strong>The Economics and Politics of Esequiba</strong> <br>
<br>
At the heart of this border dispute is energy and the billions of
dollars in profits likely to be extracted from the offshore
territory. According to the <a
href="http://cgxenergy.ca/Operations/About-Guyana/Basin-Potential.aspx">US
Geological Survey (USGS)</a>, “The Guyana Suriname Basin [is]
2nd in the world for prospectivity among the world’s unexplored
basins and 12th for oil among all the world’s basins – explored
and unexplored.” The basin, which stretches from eastern Venezuela
to the shores of northern Brazil, is one of the major prizes in
the world for energy corporations and governments alike. <br>
<br>
Indeed, the USGS <a
href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1984.htm">estimates</a>
that roughly 15 billion barrels of undiscovered oil and 42
trillion cubic feet of gas reserves lie under the basin, just
waiting to be extracted. Such staggering economic potential has
made the territorial waters off Venezuela and Guyana highly sought
after, especially since the contesting border claims make the
legal obstacles to exploration far more surmountable as they allow
companies to deal with a compliant government in Georgetown,
rather than an independent one Caracas. <br>
<br>
The unresolved conflict over territorial claims has not stopped
the newly elected Guyanese government of David Granger from
picking up where its predecessor left off, and supporting Exxon
Mobil’s exploration drilling in the <a
href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/05/guyana-exxon-mobil-idUSL1N0W72RE20150305">Stabroek
Block</a>, which lies in the heart of the disputed territory.
The importance of the competing claims is further underscored by
the fact that the very week of Granger’s election victory, Exxon
Mobil <a
href="http://www.stabroeknews.com/2015/news/stories/05/20/exxonmobil-announces-significant-oil-find-guyana/">reported</a>
a “significant oil discovery” in the very same area. Whether the
announcement of the discovery was timed to coincide with the
accession of Granger to the presidency, or it was mere
coincidence, is somewhat secondary to the critical fact that this
announcement infuses the dispute with a significant economic
component; it is no longer merely about potential energy deposits,
but actual energy extraction. This development provides an added
imperative for the US to flex its muscles in this conflict. <br>
<br>
And so it has. The US has recently <a
href="http://www.caribnewsdesk.com/news/10307-us-backs-guyana-to-settle-border-controversy-legally-shuns-talk-of-infiltrating-venezuela">officially</a>
thrown its weight firmly behind its political, economic, and
military ally Guyana. However, beyond simply backing Guyana in a
bilateral fashion, the US has wielded its influence in the
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) organization to position the
grouping to “stand firmly behind Guyana,” as Freundel Stuart,
prime minister of Barbados and chairman of CARICOM <a
href="http://en.mercopress.com/2015/07/07/caricom-supports-guyana-in-border-dispute-with-venezuela-but-there-s-also-petro-caribe">stated</a>
earlier this month. Unlike ALBA and PetroCaribe, two regional
groupings led by Venezuela that are not under the dominance of
Washington, CARICOM is in many ways part of US power projection in
the region. <br>
<br>
Again, it is unlikely that the US and CARICOM positions in support
of Guyana, announced within days of each other, and within eight
weeks of a major discovery and all-important election, are mere
happenstance. Instead, they are part of a broader campaign of
political escalation designed to pressure Venezuela into either
dropping its claims entirely or, at the very least, toning down
its demands that its sovereignty and territorial integrity be
acknowledged and respected. <br>
<br>
But the escalation is not merely one of rhetoric. Rather, the US
is turning up the heat both militarily and the realm of propaganda
and public relations. <br>
<br>
<strong>A New Front in the Destabilization of Venezuela</strong> <br>
<br>
It is no secret that that the US has sought to undermine and
destroy the Bolivarian revolution from almost the very moment of
its birth with the ascendance of Hugo Chavez. While perhaps the
most prominent example of such subversion came with the 2002 coup
against the legal government of Venezuela – a failed regime change
supported by Washington despite almost universal international
condemnation – it is by no means the only attempt at
destabilization. Since Chavez’s passing, the soft power subversion
and sabotage of the government has only increased, from <a
href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/02/17/venezuela-under-attack-again/">economic
warfare</a> to the <a
href="http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/6006">funding</a> and
<a
href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/18/venezuela-protests-us-support-regime-change-mistake">support</a>
of Venezuela’s opposition. It is within this context that the
developments in the Venezuela-Guyana dispute must be understood. <br>
<br>
Essentially, the conflict with Guyana is both an economic one, and
a military/strategic one. While there is not a hot war between the
two countries, the US has positioned its assets in such a way as
to make that a very real possibility. Though downplaying the US
role, Washington has been sending a clear message – one might say
a veiled threat of force – to Caracas with some of its recent
comments. The Charge D’Affaires of the US Embassy in Guyana
recently <a
href="http://www.caribnewsdesk.com/news/10307-us-backs-guyana-to-settle-border-controversy-legally-shuns-talk-of-infiltrating-venezuela">stated</a>
that, “The US has a long-standing relationship with the Guyana
Defence Force (GDF). We have engaged in a number of co-operative
and developmental efforts over the years to provide training and
expertise...and exchange experience in a wide variety of areas.”
Such statements may seem relatively innocuous, but they are to be
read as an acknowledgment of the military capacity of US power in
the region, which in many ways sees Guyana as a de facto proxy. <br>
<br>
Indeed, there is much evidence upon which to base such an
assertion aside from just the words of US officials. Since 2010,
the US Navy has had a cooperative relationship, including <a
href="https://guyaneseonline.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/first-ever-us-naval-vessel-arriving-for-military.pdf">docking
and training</a>, with its Guyanese counterparts based in Port
Georgetown. In addition, <a
href="http://www.southcom.mil/newsroom/Pages/SOUTHCOM-commander-visits-Guyana,-Suriname.aspx">Guyana
figures prominently</a> in the Pentagon’s project in South
America known as SOUTHCOM, with the country seen as an outpost for
US military power projection against Venezuela. <br>
<br>
Though much of this military cooperation and partnership is
already known, there is a new danger for Venezuela, one that most
political observers around the world have either missed or
otherwise ignored: the accession of David Granger to power. While
he has been heralded by western media as a reformer leading a
multiracial, inclusive coalition, the overlooked fact is that
Granger is a direct military product, if not asset, of the US and
its allies. <br>
<br>
As Guyana’s Government Information Agency (GINA) noted on its <a
href="http://www.gina.gov.gy/home/index.php/home/all-news/item/2362-profiles-of-the-apnu-afc-cabinet-members">website</a>,
President Granger “attended the University of the West Indies, the
University of Maryland and the National Defence University in the
USA...He received his military training at the Mons Officer Cadet
School and the School of Infantry in the United Kingdom, the
Jungle Warfare Instruction Centre in Brazil, and the Army Command
and Staff College in Nigeria.” <br>
<br>
Students of the modern history of Latin America are all too
familiar with this story: US and British trained military leader
assumes control over strategically and geopolitically important
country in the region, one that shares a border with a declared
adversary of Washington. Though he may not be a product of the
infamous School of the Americas, Granger’s pedigree, coupled with
his declared focus on the “territorial integrity” of Guyana
portends dangerous potential moves by his government, especially
at a time of escalating tensions. <br>
<br>
Of course, the US continues with its propaganda campaign against
the Bolivarian Republic as well. From imposing <a
href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/09/politics/venezuela-sanctions-white-house/">sanctions</a>
against Venezuela for trumped up “human rights abuses,” to <a
href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/new-us-sanctions-lost-in-venezuelas-translation/2015/03/11/f8f3af6a-c7ff-11e4-bea5-b893e7ac3fb3_story.html">declaring</a>
the country “an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national
security and foreign policy of the United States” that constitutes
a “national emergency,” Washington has clearly taken the decision
to ratchet up tensions in 2015. The dispute with Guyana is clearly
a new vector in this broader destabilization strategy. <br>
<br>
And that is how the border conflict must be understood – a new
front in an old war. Though there may be billions at stake for
energy corporations, as well as military imperatives for the
Pentagon, ultimately the dispute is geopolitical in nature. The
Guayana Esequiba issue is, at its root, an issue of US hegemony
and imperialism. </p>
<p>***</p>
<p><em>Eric Draitser is an independent geopolitical analyst based in
New York City. He is the editor of StopImperialism.org and host
of CounterPunch Radio. You can reach him at <a
href="mailto:ericdraitser@gmail.com"
title="ericdraitser@gmail.com"><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:ericdraitser@gmail.com">ericdraitser@gmail.com</a></a>.</em></p>
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