President Irfaan Ali said while Guyana has called on Venezuela to refrain from its acts of aggression and its planned elections for a Governor of Guyana’s Essequibo, the territorial integrity of Guyana will continue to be protected and safeguarded.

“We have always said that we asked Venezuela to respect international law but we are not sitting back also. Of course, I want to assure you and all Guyanese that the Guyana Defence Force, the Government and every stakeholder, we are putting everything in place to ensure that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Guyana is always protected and safeguarded,” the Guyanese Head of State said.

The President said his Government, together with its partners, is monitoring the situation with continuous analysis being done.   

Venezuela has vowed to proceed with its planned election on May 25, the eve of Guyana’s Independence Celebration. It said the provisional measures issued by the ICJ are abusive and interventionist, and it would not abide by them. The International Court has blocked Venezuela from proceeding with any planned election for a Governor of the Essequibo.

The President said Guyanese have nothing to fear.

“To all the citizens of Guyana, those who are living in the territory of Guyana, you have nothing to fear, you are living in what is our sovereign space and we are going to protect and ensure our sovereign space is respected by all,” he said.

The orders of the ICJ, which were issued on December 1, 2023 and May 2025 are legally binding on both States.

Venezuela has been pushing for bilateral talks, but the Government of Guyana has made it clear that it has no intention of entering into bilateral negotiations with Venezuela regarding Venezuela’s claim of nullity of the 1899 Arbitral Award and by extension, its claim to almost two thirds of Guyana’s territory, now that the matter is before the ICJ.

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