A Primer into 21st Century Caribbean Geopolitics: The Importance of Guyana
Kai-Ann D. Skeete, PhD$*In a region with 15 full member states, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is comprised of numerous borders, ranging from 10 land borders and 37 maritime boundaries. Cedric Griffith argues that CARICOM Member States need to acknowledge that boundaries are no longer ‘fundamentally unique, sensitive and bilateral in nature’, especially given the plethora of disputed borders and boundaries within the Community, from Guyana to Venezuela, Belize and Guatemala and Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados. CARICOM’s position on all border disputes regarding its Member States has been basically the same, once the “sovereignty, security and territorial integrity” of the Member State is ensured.
Geopolitically, the CARICOM region, as we know it, is comprised of numerous small and very small territories in the insular Caribbean, Central and South America. Due to our geographic location, we are located relatively close to extremely large and powerful global actors, with the USA in the North, Brazil in the South an