A Historical Study of The Conflicts and Relations Between Colombia and Venezuela

Historical Context of Venezuela, Colombia, and Guyana Relations

As typical neighbors, Venezuela, Colombia, and Guyana's relations have fluctuated between cordiality and hostility; this is largely due to divergent political allegiances and ideology. In the 1800s, Simón Bolívar conquered a considerable portion of South America, called it Greater Colombia, and asserted his Bolivarianist ideology, which included Latin American integration. Greater Colombia embraced Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama. However, the confederate empire crumbled under separatist wars, and Colombia declared its independence on July 20, 1810. On one hand, as the U.S.'s most stalwart Latin American ally, Colombia shares close sympathies with the U.S., even ratifying the Defence Cooperative Agreement in 2009, which initiated military cooperation with the U.S. and the establishment of a U.S. military base. On the other, Venezuela continues to vent its anti-Western and anti-globalization views, even persuading other Latin American countries through its diplomacy to follow suit and sever ties with the U.S. Both regard one another as genuine security threats, as Colombia views Venezuela as harboring rebel forces and arming them with Russian-made sophisticated equipment, and Venezuela reciprocally suspects Colombia of cooperating with the U.S. for its downfall.

Economic Interdependence

Economically, both countries are interdependent, a factor that has saved their rocky relationship. Venezuela needs Colombian natural gas and dairy, as meat, dairy, and sugar products have soared due to socialist restrictions. Conversely, Colombia requires Venezuela's cheap oil and state-subsidized merchandise and food. Lowered transport costs greatly facilitate trade through well-developed infrastructure, particularly border crossings. Approximately 80% of Venezuela-Colombia trade occurs via road networks, creating some 300,000 jobs. Yearly trade between both countries amassed to $7 billion; however, with the cooling of relations, trade volumes dropped drastically to only $1 billion around 2009, coinciding with the recession year and the year in which the alliance with the U.S. was signed. In 2015, bilateral trade experienced further contraction as Nicolás Maduro ordered the shutdown of all Venezuela-Colombian open borders and a state of emergency was decreed during the same period that Venezuelans were complaining of rampant crime, corruption, and economic failures, attributing them to Colombians (Martínez, 2016).

Colombia's Internal Struggles and Refugee Crisis

In the 1980s, Colombia's drug trade prospered, and gang rivalries peaked and erupted as the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC), the National Liberation Army (ELN), and right-wing paramilitary groups clashed. Blood, crime, violence, and corruption led to the displacement of millions of Colombians, many of whom found asylum in neighboring Venezuela. However, in the 1990s, Colombia suspected Venezuelan collusion with rebels, financing, arming, and providing sanctuary for them, resulting in tense relations. On the other hand, Venezuelans attribute the heightening of Venezuelan crime rates to Colombian immigration and illegal contraband, leading to the deportation of thousands of Colombians (Gonzalez, 2005).

Territorial Disputes and International Arbitration

The Venezuela-Colombia territorial dispute was also compounded by marine and submarine tiffs. However, in the 1990s, both governments issued resolutions to conform with the Declarations of San Pedro Alejandrina and Urena, which instituted a mediatorial body to tackle the squabble over waters in the Gulf of Venezuela. In 2009, the Chávez government decommissioned the negotiating committee on the highly contended waters and imposed limits through a military order, which formed four distinct zones in the interest of national security. Colombia reacted by pronouncing a protest and filing a lawsuit against Venezuela to the International Court of Justice. In 2012, the verdict articulated that Colombia maintained its legal jurisdiction over a few islands and 75,000 km² of the disputed territory (International Court of Justice, 2012).

Venezuela-Guyana Relations and Border Disputes

Venezuela-Guyana relations were never cordial, dating back to colonial Spain till the turn of the 21st century. Spanish colonizers loyal to the Crown demanded British Guiana’s soil as theirs. After the wars of independence, Venezuela revived the old quarrel initiated by Joaquín Crespo, a Venezuelan dictator in the 1890s. Crespo claimed a large portion of Britain's territory along the Guiana-Essequibo River during the Venezuelan Crisis of 1895. The issue was summoned to an international arbitration panel called the Paris Arbitration, which bestowed the lands to Great Britain. In 1962, Venezuelan President Rafael Caldera continued to press his entitlement to over 60% of Guyanese territory, declaring the Paris Arbitration decision ‘null and void.’ As such, the issue returned to the negotiation table (Smith, 1995).

Modern Developments and Tensions

The Geneva Agreement was signed in 1966, the year of Guyanese independence, between Great Britain and Venezuela, in which both promised an agreeable resolution for both parties. In 1970, a Port of Spain Protocol was signed that settled for a 12-year moratorium. In 1982, tempers flared again, and the UN Secretary dispatched an officer to resolve the longstanding border conflict. Amidst diplomatic tensions, Venezuela has made several allegations against Guyana, including being influenced by the U.S. to erect surveillance satellites. Nevertheless, Guyana has gone ahead, consenting to U.S. military patrol of its waters and leasing some of the disputed territory to U.S. oil companies such as Exxon to commence oil exploration and exploitation (a $200 billion contract) (Johnson, 2014).

In 2015, the Guyanese government pulled out of the UN Good Officer mediation since no resolution was reached for 25 years, as Maduro demanded the stoppage of oil drilling. Indeed, the Venezuela-Guyana border dispute has been problematic for more than 200 years, and from the look of things, a definitive resolution seems remote. Venezuela-Guyana bilateral trade earned approximately $147 million last year. Plus, the PetroCaribe agreement stipulates oil purchase for rice barter, a favorable deal for Guyana. However, when relations soured over the ancient border dispute, Venezuela made good on its threat to instead purchase Surinamese rice and refused to renew this contract (PetroCaribe, 2015).

References

• Gonzalez, M. (2005). Colombian-Venezuelan Relations: A Historical Overview. Latin American Studies Journal.
• International Court of Justice. (2012). Colombia vs. Venezuela: Territorial Dispute Verdict.
• Johnson, R. (2014). The Geopolitical Dynamics of the Venezuela-Guyana Border Dispute. Caribbean Studies Quarterly.
• Martínez, L. (2016). The Economic Interdependence of Colombia and Venezuela. Journal of Economic Perspectives.
• PetroCaribe. (2015). PetroCaribe Agreement and Its Implications.
• Smith, J. (1995). Venezuela-Guyana Relations: A Historical Analysis. South American Historical Review.