The Trail of Diplomacy

About the Book

This volume, the second of a three-part documentary, continues the history of the Guyana-Venezuela border issue from where Volume One left off. It describes Venezuela’s dissatisfaction over the territorial and boundary award issued in 1899 by the international arbitral tribunal, subsequently leading to that country’s government unilaterally declaring it in 1962 as being “null and void.” The volume goes on to examine the evolved political events, including the sporadic Venezuelan infringements of Guyana’s territorial integrity and the pursuit of diplomacy by both countries, resulting eventually in 1966 to a formal agreement at Geneva aimed at seeking a practical settlement of the “controversy” arising from Venezuela’s contention of the nullity of the arbitral award. A subsidiary protocol to suspend the search for a settlement was signed in Port of Spain in 1970, but the succeeding twelve-year period was characterized by a succession of bilateral political interplay, resulting in Venezuela’s decision to terminate this pact in 1982.

About the Author

Dr. Odeen Ishmael, a veteran Guyanese diplomat and widely published author, served as Guyana’s ambassador to the United States of America and the Organization of American States (1993–2003), Venezuela (2003–2011), and Kuwait and Qatar (2011–2014). He has written extensively on Guyanese history, education, and culture and is internationally recognized as a premier analyst and commentator on the political integration movement in South America. In 1997, his country decorated him with the Cacique Crown of Honor for his diplomatic work, and in 2002, in the United States, he was honored with the Martin Luther King Legacy Award for international service.