Part One: Washington, Delcy and the New Risk to Guyana’s Sovereignty

Part One: Washington, Delcy and the New Risk to Guyana’s Sovereignty

OPINION BY: Hem Kumar October 2026

Guyana Must Not Become the Price of a Trump-Delcy Deal

The live danger for Guyana is not merely a Venezuelan military move. It is the possibility that Venezuela’s unlawful claim becomes bargaining capital in a Washington-Caracas transaction, with Guyana asked to pay for regional “stability” by negotiating territory, oil or sovereign rights that are not Washington’s to trade. 

Guyana must now confront a diplomatic reality that is as dangerous as any military threat: Venezuela may be seeking accommodation with Washington without surrendering one inch of its unlawful claim to Essequibo.

Delcy Rodríguez has shown that Caracas can speak the language of “cooperation” with the United States while continuing to wave the map, repeat the claim and demand that Guyana return to a so-called negotiated settlement. That is not peace. It is a calculated effort to make Venezuela acceptable to Washington without making Venezuela accountable to international law.

And Georgetown must understand the trap.

The question is no longer whether President Donald Trump dislikes Nicolás Maduro or whether Washington has traditionally supported Guyana’s territorial integrity. The question is whether a transactional United States administration, pursuing oil access, debt settlements, mining opportunities, migration control and political leverage in Caracas, may come to see the Guyana-Venezuela controversy as an obstacle to be “managed.”

That word—managed—should alarm every Guyanese.

Because in the language of powerful states, “managing” a controversy often means asking the smaller, law-abiding country to make concessions so the larger, disruptive country can be brought into line. Venezuela creates the instability. Venezuela rejects the court. Venezuela asserts a claim over two-thirds of Guyana. Venezuela threatens, provokes and refuses to accept the legal process.

Yet Guyana, because it is peaceful, democratic and internationally compliant, may be asked to demonstrate “flexibility.”

That would be an outrage.

There can be no moral equivalence between the victim of an unlawful claim and the state making that claim.

Yet the risk is clear. If Washington sees Delcy Rodríguez as a useful partner in a broader Venezuela reset, Caracas may attempt to sell the illusion of stability in exchange for economic relief, political recognition or commercial re-engagement. And where does Guyana fit into that equation? It could be treated as the party expected to give something up—perhaps in the form of “joint development,” “shared resources,” “special arrangements,” or renewed negotiations dressed up as a regional peace plan.

Guyana must reject that script before it is written.

There must be no oil-sharing formula that implies Venezuela has a lawful claim to Guyana’s territory. There must be no joint-development arrangement that converts illegal aggression into an investment opportunity. There must be no political deal that suspends, dilutes or circumvents the ICJ process. And there must be no foreign pressure—whether from Washington, Brasília, CARICOM or elsewhere—to make Guyana negotiate what is not negotiable.

The 1899 Arbitral Award is not a bargaining chip. Essequibo is not a peace offering. Guyana’s sovereignty is not available for lease, discount or exchange.

President Irfaan Ali has correctly stated that Guyana will not compromise its territorial integrity in pursuit of an “amicable” arrangement. That position must now be hardened into national policy, repeated without ambiguity and backed by diplomatic action. Guyana must insist that every partner state publicly recognise three essential principles: the ICJ process must proceed; the eventual ruling must be respected; and no side arrangement can prejudice Guyana’s sovereign rights.

This is the test of Guyanese diplomacy in the coming period.

The real danger is not merely that Venezuela may threaten Guyana with force. The real danger is that Venezuela’s threat may become bargaining capital in somebody else’s deal.

Guyana must make certain that it is never the price of a Trump-Delcy transaction.