The President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, issued an Executive Order on Saturday, 21st August 2020, announcing the creation of a new state within the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. The new state, called Amazonas, will be situated in the country’s south-western region and will include approximately 40 thousand km2 of land from neighbouring Guyana, allegedly based on the historic Essequibo territory.
Venezuela’s new Amazonas state has immediate geopolitical consequences for the neighbouring countries, especially Guyana and Brazil, with whom they have disputed claims on the region that is now part of the new state. Maduro’s order presupposes the recognition of the full sovereignty of Venezuela over the territory of the new Amazonas- a move that has been contested by the government of the aforementioned countries.
The Executive Order, which was signed by Maduro, also laid down the characterization of Amazonas as a federalised entity with precedence over local and mixed institutions, as well as a new Map of Venezuela with the new state included. This order has been met with demands for the preservation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Guyana, emanating from the United Nations, the United States, Great Britain, and most South American countries.
The Executive Order also assigns responsibility for the legal recognition and implementation of the act of state creation to the Minister of People’s Power for Internal Affairs and Justice and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and People’s Power for the People’s Economy.
There are a few other points of the order which have been contested by the international community. It seeks to constitute a regional government, assign executive responsibilities, allocate public resources, establish procedures for the exercise of the population’s rights, and incorporate the existing legislative, administrative and judicial orders into the newly created state.
The Executive Order has been met with fierce criticism and denial by Guyana and its foreign allies, as they see it as an unacceptable and illegal attempt to impose an expansion of Venezuela’s sovereignty on a neighbouring state. While this expansion is unlikely to succeed, it signals a greater willingness by the Maduro government to extend its international influence through strong diplomatic measures.