The Border No-one Mentions. Venezuela vs Guyana.

Image: Rosa Rodrigues

Unless you have been living under a rock you are probably tired of hearing about the U.S.A.-Mexican border. You may now know of the Darien jungle trail between Colombia and Panama, maybe even the south/eastern Colombian border with Venezuela.

Here is some more (potentially useless) information. Many land borders south of the U.S.-Mexico line, from Colombia to Peru and Brazil, are heavily influenced by criminal cartels.

While the mainstream media spotlights “traditional border wars” like India-Pakistan or Ukraine-Russia, fought with high-tech weaponry, armed guerrillas operating along South American borders rival modern armies. In fact, their jungle defense and offensive tactics could outmatch many military forces.

One border that remains largely ignored in the world of border disputes is the Cuyuní River, a porous frontier between Venezuela and Guyana where migration and crime threaten a fragile nation struggling to secure its future, following decades of political discrimination and violence, flawed economic policies, high national debt and, centuries of neglect.

Across this disputed border, Venezuelans sick of living with crime and corruption, and not being able to put the necessities of life on the table, depart their country in desperation, drawn by jobs in the booming oil…