Dear Editor,

I write with respect to the article published in the Jamaica Observer on March 13, 2026 entitled ‘Guyana and Venezuela continue squabble over Essequibo region’.

While the article discusses an important regional matter, I am constrained to point out that the map accompanying the report depicts Guyana’s sovereign territory, the New River Triangle, as forming part of the territory of the Republic of Suriname. The Government of Guyana takes umbrage to this erroneous and imprudent misrepresentation contained in the report and wishes to point out that such actions have significant consequences.

To be clear, the ministry wishes to affirm that the internationally recognised map of Guyana confirms that the New River Triangle is part of the sovereign territory of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. This status is based on a binding legal process and international agreements between and among the Governments of Brazil, Great Britain, and The Netherlands in 1936.

The boundary between Guyana and Suriname was confirmed with precision in 1936 when a joint British-Dutch-Brazilian Boundary Commission identified the source of the Kutari River on the watershed with Brazil as the tri-junction point where the boundaries of Brazil, British Guiana, and Suriname meet.

A monument was constructed in 1936 by a joint British and Dutch commission marking the tri-junction point — the southernmost point of the boundary between Guyana and Suriname. The agreement fixing the tri-junction point was signed by the three heads of the mixed commission (one from each State). This confirmed the territory that is referred to as the New River Triangle as being firmly on Guyana’s side of the international boundary.

Guyana has always respected the agreed boundary and has exercised sovereignty and enjoyed continuous occupation of the territory on its side, including the New River Triangle. Suriname has never enjoyed ownership of the New River Triangle, even in its attempts to seize it twice by force.

Robert Persaud

Foreign secretary

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation

Georgetown, Guyana