Academician Henry Navas: Historical background supports Venezuela's rights to the Essequibo

Published at: 05/10/2026 06:30 PM

According to historian Henry Navas, the historical basis that supports Venezuela's rights over Guiana Essequiba dates back to the country's territorial background in periods prior to the creation of the Captaincy General of Venezuela.

The specialist argued that the current territorial controversy is a consequence of setbacks from the colonial era and the disputes of the European powers. He explained how historical territorial distributions, such as the Treaty of Tordesillas promoted by the Catholic Church at the end of the 15th century between Spain and Portugal, shaped the division of the American continent and left colonial dynamics that led to the pretensions of empires such as the United Kingdom.

He stressed that Venezuela has always remained firm in its inalienable right to defend its territory, because he said, “the position of the Venezuelan State is based on direct and bilateral negotiation through so-called peace diplomacy. We are reaching a face-to-face agreement where we can avoid some kind of exogenously driven and generated confrontation.”

Navas mentioned that there are outside interests that seek to provoke a conflict for economic purposes. “One of the things is that Venezuela has made great efforts to prevent such a thing from happening, even to the point of often having to carry out maneuvers that prevent us from reaching arms, especially with neighbors that we will have for a lifetime, because Guyana will continue to be there and will continue to exist and those who live there are our neighbors.”

Finally, he urged that this learning be brought to the entire school population: “And that's not to do anything else at the university level, that has to be done since elementary school because that is part of the national identity.”

Mazo News Team