The federal government of Guyana has accused the Venezuelan navy of intercepting and detaining two Guyanese fishing vessels inside Guyana’s personal EEZ.
Guyana’s overseas ministry confirmed experiences that the Guyanese fishing vessels Woman Nayera and Sea Wolf have been intercepted by the Bolivarian Navy patrol vessel ANBV Comandante Eterno Hugo Chávez (GC-24) on Thursday. The Chávez ordered the captains of the 2 fishing vessels to divert to Port Guiria, Venezuela, the place the boats and crews have been detained. The ministry has not but been formally notified of the detention by Venezuela, it mentioned Saturday night time, and it’s nonetheless in search of to find out the standing and welfare of the fishermen.
“Guyana condemns within the strongest attainable phrases this wanton act of aggression by the Venezuelan armed forces towards Guyana and Guyanese residents. This Venezuelan motion quantities to an interference with the sovereign rights of Guyana in its EEZ, opposite to worldwide regulation,” the ministry mentioned in a press release.
In a declare relationship again to the colonial period, Venezuela asserts that every one of Guyana west of the Essequibo River (an space accounting for 73 p.c of Guyana) is Venezuelan territory, together with the EEZ extending from the area’s shoreline. Guyana’s outer continental shelf has sturdy oil and gasoline improvement potential, and licenseholder ExxonMobil has made about one dozen promising finds in areas on the southeast facet of the road.
The Guyanese overseas ministry famous that the interdiction adopted shortly after a decree by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to ascertain “a brand new maritime territory of Venezuela known as ‘Territory for the event of the Atlantic Façade,'” encompassing Guyana’s territorial waters, EEZ and OCS. “Guyana has emphatically condemned this Venezuelan decree as a flagrant violation of its sovereignty and sovereign rights, and of basic guidelines of worldwide regulation,” the ministry mentioned.
Guyana known as for the quick launch of the seized fishing vessels and their crews.