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==Geneva Agreement of 1966==
==Geneva Agreement of 1966==
The status of the Essequibo territory became subject to the Geneva Agreement, which was signed by the United Kingdom, Venezuela and British Guiana on 17 February 1966. This treaty stipulates that the parties will agree to find a practical, peaceful and satisfactory solution to the dispute. Disputes over the territory have continued since, even after Guyana was granted independence the same year.
The status of the Essequibo territory became subject to the Geneva Agreement, which was signed by the United Kingdom, Venezuela and British Guiana on 17 February 1966. This treaty stipulates that the parties will agree to find a practical, peaceful and satisfactory solution to the dispute. Disputes over the territory have continued since, even after Guyana was granted independence the same year.
==Falklands Islands==
Although in the 20th century both countries were mostly on good terms, Venezuela expressed its support to [[Argentina]] over the [[Falklands Islands]] dispute that eventually led to the [[Falklands War]] between the United Kingdom and Argentina in 1982.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/falklandislands/9063065/Hugo-Chavez-says-Venezuelan-troops-would-fight-with-Argentina-over-Falklands.html |title=Hugo Chavez says Venezuelan troops would fight with Argentina over Falklands |date=6 February 2012 |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-02-05 |title=Chavez And Allies Back Argentina On Falklands |url=https://www.salon.com/2012/02/05/chavez_and_allies_back_argentina_on_falklands/ |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=Salon |language=en}}</ref>


== Model United Nations ==
== Model United Nations ==

Revision as of 05:07, 16 July 2023

United Kingdom – Venezuela relations
Map indicating locations of United Kingdom and Venezuela

United Kingdom
Venezuela

United Kingdom–Venezuela relations are the bilateral relations between the United Kingdom and Venezuela since 1821 when so-called "British Legions" of former British soldiers fought to defend the Second Republic of Venezuela against Spanish royalists in the Venezuelan War of Independence.

War of Independence

Main article: Battle of Carabobo

Of Bolívar's force in the Battle of Carabobo, of 6,500 or 8,000, between 340[1] or 350[2] were men of the British Rangers battalion, the great majority of them of Anglophone origin,[3] commanded by Colonel Thomas Ilderton Ferrier and including many former members of the King's German Legion. Though greatly outnumbered and low on supplies, the legion soldiers managed to maintain control of tactically critical hills. By the battle's end, the legionary force had suffered 119 deaths, of which 11 were officers. Col. Ferrier was among the dead. Bolívar later praised the Legion troops and called them the "Saviors of my Fatherland", noting that they had distinguished themselves among other armies.[4]

El Callao gold rush

The gold mine at El Callao started in 1871, was for a time one of the richest in the world, and the goldfields as a whole saw over a million ounces exported between 1860 and 1883. The gold mining was dominated by immigrants from the British Isles and the British West Indies, giving an appearance of almost creating an English colony on Venezuelan territory. The real number of inhabitants may be five times higher than the official one, which is around 25.000. This is due to gold mines in the area.

Venezuelan crisis of 1895

Main article: Venezuelan crisis of 1895

During the late 19th century, Britain refused to include in the proposed international arbitration the disputed territory with Venezuela east of the "Schomburgk Line", which a surveyor had drawn half-a-century earlier as a boundary between Venezuela and the former Dutch territory of British Guiana.[5] The dispute ultimately saw Britain accept the United States' mediation in the dispute to force arbitration of the entire dispute territory, and tacitly accept the US right to intervene under the Monroe Doctrine. A tribunal convened in Paris in 1898 to decide the matter, and in 1899 awarded the bulk of the disputed territory to British Guiana.[6]

Venezuelan Crisis of 1902–1903

Britain was involved in the Venezuela Crisis of 1902–1903, during an Italo-German blockade of Venezuela to enforce payment of Venezuelan debts.

Venezuelan oil rush

In 1904 one oil concession was granted by the venezuelan government to Rafael Max Valladares who hired Caribbean Petroleum Company (later acquired by Royal Dutch Shell) to carry out his oil exploration project in Venezuela. On 15 April 1914, upon the completion of the Zumaque-I (now called MG-I) oil well, the first Venezuelan oilfield of importance, Mene Grande, was discovered by Caribbean Petroleum in the Maracaibo Lake Basin. This major discovery encouraged a massive wave of foreign oil companies to Venezuela in an attempt to gain a foothold in the burgeoning market.

From 1914 to 1917, several more oil fields were discovered across the country including the emblematic Bolivar Coastal Field; however World War I slowed significant development of the industry. Due to the difficulty in purchasing and transporting the necessary tools and machinery, some oil companies were forced to forego drilling until after the war. By the end of 1917, the first refining operations began at the San Lorenzo refinery to process the Mene Grande field production, and the first significant exports of Venezuelan oil by Caribbean Petroleum left from the San Lorenzo terminal. By the end of 1918, petroleum appeared for the first time on the Venezuelan export statistics at 21,194 metric tons.

It was the blowout of the Barroso No. 2 well in Cabimas in 1922 that marked the beginning of Venezuela's modern history as a major producer. This discovery captured the attention of tthe world. Soon dozens of foreign companies acquired vast tracts of territory in the hope of striking it rich, and by 1928 Venezuela became the world's leading oil exporter. Oil ended Venezuela's relative anonymity in the eyes of world powers, making it a linchpin of an ever-expanding international oil industry and a new consideration in global policymaking.

Geneva Agreement of 1966

The status of the Essequibo territory became subject to the Geneva Agreement, which was signed by the United Kingdom, Venezuela and British Guiana on 17 February 1966. This treaty stipulates that the parties will agree to find a practical, peaceful and satisfactory solution to the dispute. Disputes over the territory have continued since, even after Guyana was granted independence the same year.

Falklands Islands

Although in the 20th century both countries were mostly on good terms, Venezuela expressed its support to Argentina over the Falklands Islands dispute that eventually led to the Falklands War between the United Kingdom and Argentina in 1982.[7][8]

Model United Nations

In many Models of United Nations in Venezuela, particularly Caracas, as guests, many British representatives gave a speech in what is known as a "opening act".

Venezuelan presidential crisis

See also: Venezuelan presidential crisis

As of August 2017, the British Government advised against 'all but essential travel' to Venezuela, and withdrew dependents of British Embassy staff, due to the 'ongoing unrest and instability', citing the protests and crime in the country.[9]

In January 2019 during a visit to the United States, UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt stated that "Nicolás Maduro is not the legitimate leader of Venezuela" and Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó should become President of Venezuela.[10] On 4 February 2019, Hunt stated that the UK officially recognised Guaidó as president.[11] However the United Kingdom continued to maintain consular and diplomatic relations with the Maduro controlled government, suggesting some ambiguity.[12] This policy is a partial exception to the UK's long held policy of recognising states rather than specific governments.[13][14]

In Autumn 2019 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office created the 'Venezuela Reconstruction Unit' led by John Saville, formerly UK ambassador to Venezuela, to coordinate a UK effort to support Venezuela. After this became public in May 2020, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza summoned the UK's Chargé d'Affaires "to present a formal protest and demand explanations", and in a Twitter post wrote "We demand that the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland withdraw from Washington's coup plans and from any destabilizing initiative".[15][16] Venezuela characterised the Venezuela Reconstruction Unit as an attempt to give future preferred status to British companies in Venezuela.[17]

Control of gold in London

Since 2018, the Bank of England has delayed releasing 31 tonnes of Venezuelan gold to the Maduro government.[18] UK foreign office minister Alan Duncan said in January 2019 that while the disposition of the gold was a Bank of England decision, "they will take into account there are now a large number of countries across the world questioning the legitimacy of Nicolás Maduro and recognising that of Juan Guaidó.".[19]

On 14 May 2020, the Central Bank of Venezuela filed a legal action against the Bank of England, to force Britain to release the €930m worth of gold to the United Nations Development Programme to buy healthcare equipment, medicine, and food for the COVID-19 pandemic in Venezuela. Guaidó has appointed a parallel Venezuelan central bank board of directors, so the court will have to decide which board of directors legally controls the gold.[14][18] In July 2020 the High Court ruled that Guaidó was interim president, but the Court of Appeal ruled in October 2020 that the British Foreign Secretary's statement on recognition was ambiguous, clarified the legal importance of the distinction between de jure president and de facto president, and returned the case to the High Court for reconsideration.[12][20][21]

Resident diplomatic missions

  • United Kingdom has an embassy in Caracas.[22]
  • Venezuela has an embassy and a consulate-general in London.[23]
  • Embassy of Venezuela in London
    Embassy of Venezuela in London
  • Consulate-General of Venezuela in London
    Consulate-General of Venezuela in London

See also

References

  1. ^ Gonzalo Pulido Ramirez (2011). Estudio Histórico de la batalla de Carabobo (1821). Universidad Andrés Bello, Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas. pp. 163–164.
  2. ^ Real Academia de la Historia. "Boletin de la Real Academia de la Historia". CCIV: 42–43. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. ^ Flórez Alvarez (1921). Campaña libertadora de 1821. Bogotá, Colombia: Imprenta del E. M. G. pp. 200.
  4. ^ Piero Gleijeses (1992). "The Limits of Sympathy: The United States and the Independence of Spanish America". Journal of Latin American Studies. 24 (3). Cambridge University Press: 481–505. doi:10.1017/S0022216X00024251. JSTOR 156773. S2CID 145292464.
  5. ^ King (2007:249)
  6. ^ Graff, Henry F., Grover Cleveland (2002). ISBN 0-8050-6923-2. pp123-25
  7. ^ "Hugo Chavez says Venezuelan troops would fight with Argentina over Falklands". The Daily Telegraph. 6 February 2012.
  8. ^ "Chavez And Allies Back Argentina On Falklands". Salon. 5 February 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  9. ^ "Venezuela Travel Advice". HM. Government. Archived from the original on 8 August 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  10. ^ "Foreign Secretary statement on situation in Venezuela, January 2019". Foreign and Commonwealth Office. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  11. ^ Casalicchio, Emilio (4 February 2019). "Jeremy Hunt says UK recognises Juan Guaidó as president of crisis-hit Venezuela". PoliticsHome. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  12. ^ a b Wintour, Patrick (5 October 2020). "UK court overturns ruling on $1.8bn of Venezuelan gold". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  13. ^ Duncan, Alan (25 February 2019). "To Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee" (PDF). House of Commons. UK Parliament. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  14. ^ a b "UK court must decide which leader to recognise in Venezuela gold case". The Guardian. Reuters. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  15. ^ Martinez, Juan (17 May 2020). "British Support for Opposition Administration in Venezuela Uncovered". The Rio Times. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  16. ^ "Caracas seeks 'coup attempt' explanation over 'Venezuela Reconstruction Unit' in UK Embassy". The Nation. Lahore. 15 May 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  17. ^ "Real Negotiation among Venezuela's Main Political Actors 'Only Way Forward' to Resolving Protracted Crisis, Under-Secretary-General Tells Security Council" (Press release). United Nations. 20 May 2020. SC/14193. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  18. ^ a b "Venezuela in bid to force Bank of England to transfer $1bn of gold". The Guardian. Reuters. 19 May 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  19. ^ Wintour, Patrick (28 January 2019). "Bank of England urged to give Juan Guaidó Venezuela's gold". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  20. ^ Alexander, Harriet (5 October 2020). "Venezuela's Maduro wins Court of Appeal battle to access £800m gold bullion". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  21. ^ Hoffmann, Anna (6 October 2020). "De facto and de jure Presidents - The Maduro Board of the Central Bank of Venezuela (Appellant) v The Guaidó Board of the Central Bank of Venezuela". 4 Pump Court. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  22. ^ Embassy of the United Kingdom in Caracas
  23. ^ Embassy of Venezuela in London
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