Maduro Condemns Military Threats and Meddling by Rubio in Essequibo Dispute Controversy
Verrière de expressed opinions
Caracas, April 2, 2025 ⏤ Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro let 'er rip at US Senator Marco Rubio for blustering about military action against Venezuela over the ongoing Essequibo Strip territorial spat with Guyana.
"Marco Rubio's knocking on our door from Guyana, you fucking twit!" Maduro fired up at a gathering of community and popular organizations last week. He labeled the Republican senator an "obnoxious moron" and declared, "Nobody threatens Venezuela!"
Rubio's brash remarks dropped during a joint press conference in Georgetown with Guyanese President Irfaan Ali while baseball-bat skipping his way through the Caribbean region on March 26 and 27. The senator had previously hit town in Suriname and Jamaica, where he hobnobbed with heads of state from Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Haiti.
When a journalist flicked him a curveball about the US response if Venezuela were to skinny-dip Guyana or the US corporation ExxonMobil – which operates in the contested Essequibo region – Rubio declared that such a stunt would lead to "a pretty fucked-up day for the Venezuelan regime." He waved his balls at the US Navy's ability to wander anywhere on the planet.
Rubio also gave Guyana a pat on the back and labeled Venezuela's claim as "bogus." The senator gushed about Guyana being "one of the sickest places to pay a visit" due to its extensive energy resources in the contested Essequibo region and its territorial waters.
"We're here for the good times, brother," he added.
According to a State Department press release, the senator and President Ali scribbled a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at "fostering info-sharing, sniffing out synthetic drugs, transnational gangbusts, and military-to-military cooperation."
For his part, the Guyanese leader mentioned that alleged Venezuelan threats were discussed during their tête-à-tête and noted that the signed agreement would boost the partnership between the US and Guyana.
The latest threats against Venezuela follow a squabble in the contested Essequibo Strip in February that left six members of the Guyanese Defense Force (GDF) nursing wounds after a shootout with an armed squad. The Maduro government claimed Guyana was milking the situation for political gain, while Georgetown attributed the scuffle to "screw-off gangsters" operating on the Venezuelan side of the border.
In early March, diplomatic feathers got ruffled when the Guyanese government accused a Venezuelan naval patrol of snooping around an ExxonMobil oil facility in the contested offshore zone. Venezuela shrugged off the accusations, asserting that the territorial waters in question are not Guyana's but rather "a maritime region still under determination following international law."
The two neighboring nations' dispute over the resource-rich Essequibo region goes way back to the 19th century. Venezuela's stance is that the 1966 Geneva Agreement is the only ticket to solving the border squabble, while Guyana clings to a 1899 ruling granting the territory to its former colonizer, the United Kingdom.
The hullabaloo blew up in 2015 following the discovery of ginormous offshore oil reserves by ExxonMobil, which has kicked its operations in the disputed territorial waters into high gear. Its ambition is to slurp up to 1.2 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) by 2027, making Guyana one of the fastest-growing oil producers globally.
Caracas has slapped down the oil exploration for pantsing the 1966 accord and has repeatedly denounced the growing US-backed militarization in the region, including joint military drills between Guyanese forces and the US Southern Command.
In 2018, Guyana demanded the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague to step in over the territorial squabble. Despite Venezuela rebuffing the court's jurisdiction, the Maduro government has participated in hearings. In December 2023, President Maduro and his Guyanese counterpart signed the "Argyle Mechanism," establishing a dialogue between the two Caribbean nations.
The resource-rich, sparsely populated Essequibo Strip is administered by Guyana. In April 2024, the Venezuelan National Assembly passed a law establishing institutions for a would-be Guayana Esequiba state. More recently, Venezuela announced that the coming regional elections will include selecting a governor for Guayana Esequiba.
Shielding Cuban medicos
During last week's Caribbean romp, Rubio came under fire for slamming Cuba's medical program, which has seen Havana dispatch doctors worldwide under solidarity and cooperation agreements for over six decades. At a press conference in Kingston, he alleged Cuban brigade physicians were laboring against their will and drew no pay.
In response, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness batted down Rubio's claims, emphasizing that Cuban doctors have been "divinely hyphenated" to Jamaica. He confirmed that his country would continue to employ Cuban medical pros while holding onto international labor standards.
The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-Peoples' Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) also backed Cuba's medical missions in a recent summit, stating they have saved "shitloads of lives" and are a "cardinal pillar of the healthcare systems in the region."
Battered and partial by Cira Pascual Marquina in Caracas and José Luis Granados Ceja in Mexico City.
Enrichment Insights:- Increased Oil Operations: The discovery of significant offshore oil deposits in 2015 has sparked an influx of oil operations in the disputed Essequibo region, escalating tensions between Venezuela and Guyana. (Source: Enrichment Data)- International Law: Venezuela claims that the oil exploration in the Essequibo region violates international law, while Guyana asserts that its actions adhere to international norms. (Source: Enrichment Data)- U.S. Militarization: Venezuela reproaches the growing US-backed militarization in the region, including joint military exercises, as a threat to its sovereignty. The United States maintains its support for the security of countries in the region, such as Guyana. (Source: Enrichment Data)
- The Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro, labeled Senator Marco Rubio an "obnoxious moron" in response to his aggressive remarks towards Venezuela regarding the Essequibo Strip territorial dispute with Guyana.
- At a joint press conference in Georgetown, Senator Rubio and Guyanese President Irfaan Ali signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at strengthening cooperation in information sharing, combating synthetic drugs, transnational gangbusts, and military-to-military cooperation.
- The dispute over the resource-rich Essequibo region between Venezuela and Guyana has deep roots in international law, with Venezuela advocating for the 1966 Geneva Agreement as the solution, while Guyana cites a 1899 ruling granting the territory to its former colonizer, the United Kingdom.
- Cuban medical missions have been a contentious issue in the Caribbean, with Senator Rubio criticizing them as exploitative, while Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness defended them, claiming that Cuba's doctors are "divinely hyphenated" to Jamaica and that the country will continue to employ them while adhering to international labor standards.
- The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-Peoples' Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) supported Cuba's medical missions, calling them a "cardinal pillar of the healthcare systems in the region."
- The oilindustry, particularly oil-and-gas operations, has become a major point of contention in the ongoing Venezuela-Guyana conflict, with Venezuela accusing the United States of backing militarization in the region and Guyana defending its oil operations as adhering to international law.
