LatinNews Daily - 20 September 2023

* Venezuela’s government has reacted angrily to Guyana’s recent round of bids for offshore oil and gas licences, claiming that the Guyanese government is auctioning oil and gas blocks which lie in disputed waters between the two countries. Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yván Gil shared a statement on social media which argued that “the government of Guyana does not have sovereign rights over these maritime areas and therefore any action on its borders violates international law, unless it is carried out through an agreement with Venezuela”. In response, Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali was cited by local media as saying that “the government of Guyana reserves the right to pursue economic development activities in any portion of its sovereign or any appurtenant maritime territories,” and that “any unilateral attempt by Venezuela to restrict the exercise by Guyana of its sovereignty and sovereign rights will be wholly inconsistent with the Geneva Agreement and the rule of international law”. This, in turn, prompted another statement from Gil, which accused the Guyanese government of acting “like employees of [US oil company] Exxon Mobil” and “handing over their sovereignty and independence to this US company with the aim of taking natural resources that don’t belong to them”.