Ankoko Island

Ankoko Island (Isla de Anacoco in Venezuela) is an island located at the confluence of the Cuyuni River and Wenamu River, at 6°43′N 61°8′W, on the border between Venezuela and the disputed area of Guayana Esequiba.

1905 Map of Ankoko Island (shown in the circle)

Venezuela, which claims Guayana Esequiba as part of its territory, established a military base on the island in 1966, which Guyana claims as intrusion and aggression on a territory whose sovereignty was never under discussion.

History

Venezuelan occupation

In February 1966, the governments of Venezuela, the United Kingdom and Guyana signed the Geneva Agreement aimed at resolving the controversy over the Venezuelan claim that the arbitral award of 1899, which settled the border between Venezuela and Guyana, was null and void.[1]

The Agreement provided that "no new claim or enlargement of an existing claim to territorial sovereignty in these territories (of Venezuela and British Guiana) shall be asserted while this Agreement is in force, nor shall any claim whatsoever be asserted otherwise than in the Mixed Commission while that Commission is in being".

Five months after Guyana's independence from the United Kingdom, Venezuelan troops began their occupation of Ankoko Island in October 1966.[2] Venezuelan troops quickly constructed military installations and an airstrip.[3]

Subsequently, on the morning of the 14 October 1966, Forbes Burnham, as Prime Minister and Minister of External Affairs of Guyana, dispatched a protest to the Foreign Minister of Venezuela, Ignacio Iribarren Borges, demanding the immediate withdrawal of Venezuelan troops and the removal of installations they had established.[4] Venezuelan minister Ignacio Iribarren Borges replied stating "the Government of Venezuela rejects the aforementioned protest, because Anacoco Island is Venezuelan territory in its entirety and the Republic of Venezuela has always been in possession of it".[4] La Patilla stated that Venezuelan president Raúl Leoni's response "was of such forcefulness, that until today Anacoco Island is Venezuelan territory and from that moment operates a Venezuelan airport and a military base there".[4]

Recent history

During the Venezuelan presidential crisis, interim president Juan Guaidó and the National Assembly of Venezuela renewed territory disputes with Guyana regarding sovereignty of the island. Specifically when National Assembly deputies visited the island "as an act of ratification of Venezuelan sovereignty over the area".[5]

See also

References
  1. "Agreement to Resolve the Controversy over the Frontier between Venezuela and British Guiana (Geneva Agreement) | UN Peacemaker". peacemaker.un.org. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  2. "Guyana wants ICJ to order Venezuela off Ankoko". The Guyana Chronicle. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  3. Hopkins, Jack W. (1984). Latin America and Caribbean Contemporary Record: 1982-1983, Volume 2. Holmes & Meier Publishers. ISBN 9780841909618.
  4. "Raúl Leoni paró en seco a Guyana en la Isla Anacoco (documento)". La Patilla. 26 September 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  5. "Asamblea Nacional ratificó la soberanía de Venezuela sobre el Esequibo". El Nacional (in Spanish). 2019-10-01. Retrieved 2020-01-17.

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