Exxon Finances Guyana Dispute Over Essequibo in ICJ

On Nov. 17, Venezuelan Social Movements Minister Jorge Arreaza published showing that a former Guyanese minister confessed that ExxonMobil finances his country's legal expenses before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

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"Whoever has eyes, read this: former Guyana officials accept and confess to the media that the Exxon company has effectively financed the expenses of Guyana's legal team at the International Court of Justice," he posted on the social network X.

"The U.S. oil transnational is at the forefront of Guyana's new action to try to dispossess us of the Essequibo territory. They are after our oil and natural resources and they intend to do so through a new judicial fraud," he added.

"We must stop Exxon's ambitions with our vote on Dec. 3, so that synderesis is imposed and Guyana returns to direct negotiations with Venezuela, in accordance with the Geneva Agreement."

These revelations, however, are not unprecedented. On Dec. 9, 2017, the Guyana Chronicle published an article stating that the then Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman admitted that ExxonMobil had given a large sum of money to the government of Guyana to cover the costs of the border controversy in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Trotman justified what happened by arguing the need to protect “the country’s territorial sovereignty” through non-military means.

“Let us be blamed! Let us be blamed for doing what is right… We don't have war plans and fighter jets…what we have always had since independence is our legal prowess and our diplomatic abilities and those are our best tools... In matters of state, certain things have to be done… the State must be protected… I am not ashamed and I am quite relieved,” he said, as reported by the Guyana Chronicle.

“Trotman had said government was advised by external advisors and lawyers that it should not release the full contract with Exxon Mobil, noting that a number of extenuating and external issues are being attended to, some of which have foreign affairs, sovereignty and national security implications ,” the Guyana Chronicle mentioned on the 2017 article.