“Guyana is ours to defend, not ExxonMobil’s,” said Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo today as he confirmed that his government received no financial assistance from the oil giant to offset expenses incurred while safeguarding the nation’s territory.
Bloomberg recently reported that ExxonMobil Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Darren Woods, saying his company has no intention of getting involved in the Guyana/Venezuela border controversy beyond its production related responsibilities.
When asked about any financial assistance offered to Guyana, Woods said, “No, we’re not. We’re limiting our role to the area of our expertise, which is to basically help them responsibly develop their resources.” This reality goes contrary to a narrative being peddled by Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro to the effect that Guyana is in ExxonMobil’s pocket, and is thus, being controlled by that company.
From all indications, local authorities have no grouse with the fact that ExxonMobil has chosen not to contribute to Guyana’s defence of its territory. During a press conference at Office of the President, Dr. Jagdeo said, “Exxon made it clear that this is a state-to-state issue…This is our country, not Exxon’s country. We have to defend it and we will defend every inch of it.”
Dr. Jagdeo said that if diplomacy fails, Guyana, with the assistance of her allies, is ready to go the nine yards.
