IF THE GOVERNMENT had jitters over the dramatic escalation of tension between Venezuela, Guyana and Caricom this week over the disputed Essequibo region, the Prime Minister did not show it on Thursday.
Dr Rowley appeared relaxed and upbeat as he addressed reporters at a post-Cabinet media conference held at Whitehall.
'Let us not overplay our response,' he said when asked to comment on the possible impact of the Essequibo issue. This is essentially a border dispute between Venezuela and Guyana, on the pending Dragon gas deal between this country and the regime of Nicolás Maduro.
'I don't see a close connection," Dr Rowley said.
There is a close connection. Several.
President Maduro has put in motion a referendum on the decades-long dispute, a dispute that relates to two-thirds of the land mass of oil-rich Guyana.
The matter is already before an international judicial organ, the International Court of Justice. That court's jurisdiction comes from a treaty signed in 1966 between the two countries.
But the Venezuelan leader will later this year ask the population of his country whether his administration can forget about the court and act 'by all means' to establish the region as a part of his country.
He accuses Guyanese President Dr Mohammed Irfaan Ali of illegally monetising the land by awarding oil and gas exploration contracts, and of a 'stubborn association with the interests of the US Southern Command.'
With a presidential election due next year and with opposition figures like Maria Corina Machado on the rise, Mr Maduro may well be playing to the local gallery.
That is why these moves are concerning. By turning this colonial-era dispute into a potential platform for re-election, he may be emboldened to take drastic action.
The fact that the dispute is also about oil and gas resources and that the Venezuelan leadership has framed the issue as an attempt to exorcise US influence in the region suggest direct implications for the fate of the Dragon gas deal, which was only recently jump-started thanks to a US sanctions 'carveout,' or exemption. That deal is still being negotiated. Mr Maduro is yet to issue a final licence.
Dr Rowley focused on Thursday on recent foreign-affairs breakthroughs. The relationship between Caricom and Canada has been strengthened. The relationship between Caricom and Saudi Arabia has upward momentum.
In contrast, the relationship between Caricom and Venezuela looks set to nosedive. Whereas the bloc might have once served as a mediator in the Essequibo issue, Wednesday's strongly worded upbraiding of Venezuela is a sign of considerable regional unease.
Meanwhile, the public would be forgiven for wondering if the Dragon gas matter is blighted. For almost a decade, the government has staked much of this country's economic fortune on it.
Dr Rowley should be worried.
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