On Tuesday, April 28, 2026, Guyanese President Irfaan Ali submitted a formal diplomatic protest to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) over a provocative symbolic gesture made by Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez during recent official visits to two CARICOM member states. During Rodriguez’s official engagements in Grenada and Barbados earlier this April, she wore a brooch shaped like a map of Venezuela that incorrectly includes Guyana’s 160,000-square-kilometer Essequibo Region, territory that Venezuela has long claimed as its own despite ongoing international legal proceedings over the dispute.
In a strongly worded correspondence addressed to current CARICOM Chairman and Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis Dr. Terrance Drew, President Ali emphasized that the regional bloc’s long-stated solidarity with Guyana on the territorial issue can no longer remain just rhetorical, and must be matched by concrete action. Ali argued that allowing symbols of territorial aggression against a CARICOM member state to be displayed on official regional platforms risks being misread as the community’s tacit acceptance or tolerance of Venezuela’s unlawful claim. “No action, whether deliberate or inadvertent, should create the impression that the Community’s platforms may be used to advance claims now before the International Court of Justice. CARICOM’s principled support for Guyana must be reflected not only in declarations, but also in the context and conduct of official engagements,” the letter stated.
The incident first came to light during Rodriguez’s visit to Grenada, and was later amplified when official government photos from her meeting with Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley clearly showed the disputed map brooch. Within hours of the photos circulating, Guyana’s Private Sector Commission and one of its affiliated bodies released sharp public statements condemning the gesture and the failure to address it during the official meetings.
While the Guyanese government acknowledged that it respects the sovereign right of all CARICOM member states to maintain independent bilateral relations with any global partner, including Venezuela, President Ali noted that the prominent display of a symbol asserting a territorial claim against Guyana during these high-level official engagements is deeply regrettable. He stressed that the brooch incident is far more than a trivial symbolic choice: it represents a deliberate, calculated provocation that advances a territorial claim Guyana has lawfully rejected for decades, and which is currently pending final adjudication at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Next week, the ICJ is scheduled to hold public hearings on the merits of the core legal question in the dispute: the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Tribunal Award that Guyana recognizes as the complete, final and binding settlement of its land boundary with Venezuela. President Ali emphasized that while the judicial process is ongoing, Venezuela cannot use symbolic gestures, official maps, domestic legislation, or public displays to legitimize a claim it has not been able to validate under international law.
“Such conduct does not strengthen Venezuela’s case; it undermines confidence in its stated commitment to peaceful settlement, international law, and good neighbourly relations,” Ali wrote. He added that the recent brooch incident fits into a broader pattern of provocative actions by Venezuela in recent years, including a unilateral domestic push to annex the Essequibo Region and appoint government officials to the claimed territory. These actions, he noted, directly contradict the ICJ’s December 2023 court order, which required Venezuela to refrain from any action that would alter the status quo of the disputed territory—currently administered and controlled entirely by Guyana—and mandated that both parties avoid any actions that could aggravate or expand the dispute, or complicate its final resolution.
President Ali reaffirmed Guyana’s unwavering commitment to a peaceful resolution of the dispute in full accordance with international law, stating that Guyana retains full confidence in the ICJ’s process and will respect the court’s final binding judgment. At the same time, he made clear that Guyana expects all nations, including Venezuela, to align their actions with the core principles of the United Nations Charter, avoid deliberate provocations, and respect the ongoing judicial process that both parties have agreed to participate in. He urged CARICOM to maintain consistent vigilance to uphold the bloc’s long-held principled position in support of Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.