Salazar’s “Forceful” Defense of Guyana Raises Questions About Lobbying Influence

Staff -Writer

𝙏𝙝𝙚 592 𝙂𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣

Guyana’s ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) on Tuesday described as “forceful” the statement issued by United States Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar in defense of Guyana’s territorial sovereignty amid escalating rhetoric from Venezuela’s interim President, Delcy Rodríguez.

Congresswoman Salazar, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere Affairs, took to X (formerly Twitter) to rebuke Venezuela’s posture, warning that Rodríguez appeared intent on attempting to mislead U.S. President Donald Trump in the same way she and the now-ousted Nicolás Maduro administration “tricked and destroyed” Venezuela.
“Delcy should stop threatening Guyana and start learning from it,” Salazar stated.

Her comments followed closely on the heels of Rodríguez’s declaration at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Venezuela would not recognize the Court’s authority in determining the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award. Rodríguez instead reaffirmed Venezuela’s position that the 1966 Geneva Agreement is the only legitimate mechanism for resolving the controversy, warning that any ICJ ruling could deepen divisions.
Salazar also criticized what she described as back-channel diplomacy, urging Rodríguez not to engage in “secret” communications with President Trump while advancing territorial claims against Guyana.

“You don’t deal with him through secret letters while trying to steal territory from a free and sovereign nation like Guyana,” she asserted.
The U.S. lawmaker further praised Guyana’s management of its oil revenues, highlighting the establishment of a sovereign wealth fund and rapid economic growth as evidence of responsible governance.

While the Guyana Government had not issued an immediate response, Salazar’s intervention is not occurring in a vacuum. She has previously been among the most vocal members of Congress linking Guyanese businessman Azruddin “Azz” Mohamed to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro—framing his business activities and political ambitions as part of a wider “malign influence” network tied to Caracas within the Caribbean.

That line of argument closely mirrors messaging historically associated with Continental Strategy, a U.S.-based lobbying firm retained by the PPP/C administration. The overlap has fueled assertions in some political quarters that Salazar’s positions on Guyana-related matters may be aligned with, or influenced by, lobbying narratives advanced on behalf of the government. However, no direct evidence of coordination has been publicly confirmed.

The ICJ is expected to deliver its ruling on the merits of the case by the end of 2026 or early 2027, a decision likely to have far-reaching implications for the decades-old border controversy.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 592 𝙂𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣-𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝 , 𝘼𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮, 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙄𝙣 𝙂𝙪𝙮𝙖𝙣𝙖 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨.— ✦—