Metamorphosis of this all Americas channel

During the last few months or perhaps a year or two, this channel has experienced a few transformations. Initially this was a political debate or political analysis channel in Spanish, concentrated in Venezuelan politics: which as we all know is time consuming, ineffective and exhausting, leading to nowhere. Then came the international border disputes with Guyana. I maintained the official Venezuelan position, but I started listening to the other side. I went to an online conference in the University of Guyana, heard their concerns and also became interested in the Guyana oil industry, as I am already familiar with the Venezuelan oil industry. Little by little I realized that both countries share a lot in common.

So I started asking myself: what is the use of a border dispute between Venezuela and Guyana? We should actually be working together. Of course there is a language difference. I visited Trinidad and Tobago twenty-four years ago and saw the scenery: very similar to Venezuelan eastern coast beaches. Even the mountains surrounding Port of Spain are similar to the mountains that surround any city in Venezuela. So I realized that the main difference between Venezuela, Trinidad & Tobago, and Guyana is perhaps the language, which shouldn't even be such a difference, considering that in the United States both English and Spanish are widely spoken.

In spite of all the troubles that politicians and educational systems on the Venezuelan side, or on the Trinidad and Tobago - Guyana side, could be pointless. We should make an effort to understand each other. Then what are we going to do with Essequibo? Guyana administers it. Venezuela feels it was unlawfully taken away from us. There is the example of Belize and Guatemala, which also had a similar dispute over borders. Belize has Spanish lookout oil field, not too far away Guatemala has Xan Petén oil fields. It doesn't make any sense that we fight each other, when we have common interests. All we need to do is to learn our neighbors language.

Then came the controversy of Chevron, with varying postures of Richard Grenell, Marco Rubio and Donald Trump regarding Venezuelan foreign policy maximum pressure: against oil industry lobbying. It seems that we will maintain this dispute forever, which doesn't help anyone. Frankly Venezuela doesn't even bother in those sanctions anymore. Venezuela has learned how to export her oil, with the help of countries like Trinidad and Tobago: which lend their country's name for bills of lading. Trinidad and Tobago is not pleased that a nice project we had on the Paria offshore gas fields, was prohibited by United States sanctions: as a license for Shell Oil Company was not renewed.

It is noteworthy that the ferry route organized by President Irfaan Ali, between Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana would not touch Venezuela: which is an intermediate country. We have the president of St. Vincent and the Grenadines who envisions a united Caribbean, including Venezuela and Colombia. Even northern Brazil, whose city of Boa Vista enjoys great relations with Lethem and Santa Elena de Uairén, would qualify as the southernmost town in the Caribbean sphere of influence. So there are forces dividing us and there are forces uniting us. We should choose to conquer the forces of union of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Then comes the problem of language. Why am I writing this website in English? If I continue transmitting an international view in Spanish, people from border countries such as Brazil, Netherlands Antilles,Trinidad & Tobago or Guyana will not understand it. There is also a misconception that South American countries, or at least from the English speaking perspective, tend to confuse Spanish and Portuguese: which is not the case for me. Reading Portuguese is easy, but understanding spoken Portuguese is hard. Italian is actually easier to understand for me. And there is Suriname, which is perhaps the most friendly country in the whole hemisphere, with perfect relations with every single other country in South America and the Caribbean. Nobody pays too much attention to Suriname, but their unity focus has provided the current secretary general of the Organization of American States.

It was significant that in a summit that Luis Inazio Lula Da Silva organized in Brasilia with South American leaders, Maduro was not welcomed by many of them. In the official photograph, the president of Suriname appeared between the presidents of Guyana and Venezuela: because Surinam gets along well with everyone. There are not too many countries that have that virtue. But in Surinam, they speak Dutch. We also have Haiti and they speak French. We also have French Guyana and Guadeloupe that are parts of France, but they are interconnected to South America and the Caribbean. So if I want to get along with speakers of Spanish, Portuguese, English, Dutch, and French, my website must be in English because it's the international language. So that is the reason for my Venezuelan, Colombian, Argentine, Spanish, and Mexican readers why I am no longer writing in Spanish.

Artificial Intelligence translations are available anyway, and they are decent. I have been able to follow German sites using such translations. I understand no German, but I configure translations sometimes to Spanish, sometimes to English, and it works fine. We must start making efforts for uniting Latin America and the Caribbean. Going back to the recent oil posts I was exploring about Chevron's licenses, I started researching Venezuelan oil fields: particularly the Orinoco belt. Everywhere I researched, I was told that they are extremely expensive and the oil is not marketable because it's heavy. Little by little, I started digging until I found out that if Venezuela had state-of-the-art upgraders, and we invested in enhanced oil recovery, in polymer injection, in gas injection, and we started making deals to professionalize the way we export our crude, by circumventing United States sanctions in a way acceptable by the United Nations: those actions could decrease the sanctions penalty that Venezuelan oil gets.

If you research oil prices, you can see that Venezuelan oil is sold at $51 while international oil is sold at $65. Another penalty that Venezuelan oil has for production, is our terrible road and electrical infrastructure. Electricity is needed for processes in the oil industry, while roads are needed to connect South Guárico, South Anzoátegui and South Monagas to Puerto La Cruz or maybe El Palito. El Palito is further away, but El Palito could make sense for Boyacá fields further west in Guárico as well as Puerto La Cruz. Still a network of roads and electrical grids is needed.

While researching Guyana's oil miracle, it is noteworthy that oil riches of today's Guyana are comparable to oil riches of Venezuela many decades ago. In both cases just a tiny fraction of revenue actually came to the country. Guyana deserves either a national oil industry, or consortia of private Guyanese businesses in joint venture with other South American and international community businesses. So came the idea of the Essequibo refinery, which could be used by both Venezuela and Guyana: which could process heavy crude and light crude. Pipelines would be needed, along with roads between Maturín and Georgetown, and between Tumeremo and Georgetown as well. We may focus in both Barima Waini and Cuyuní Mazaruni, to build the Essequibo bridge, and to Corentyne bridge into Surinam. It seems that Guyana's infrastructure still has homework to do.

Hydroelectrical power of both Guyana in Venezuela can of course be extended, as we have so many untapped water resources for it. Suriname started its oil ventures. They have not produced much yet. They have the Tout Lui Faut refinery, which could be upgraded. Also we have in close vicinity the Kouru space station from the European Union, which is actually a South American asset. Southernmost countries hold lithium and copper. We all have other rare earth minerals, mines should be joined by roads within the South American continent that can lead into French Guyana. That would be useful not for France but also for South America. We will have to ask the French if they can consider themselves a bicontinental country. Since so much of the territory of France is in South America, France should no longer be considered exclusively a European country. It has a space station that South Americans could use, especially as there are so many problems with using NASA facilities in the United States.

Remote areas such as Amazon or Chocó in Colombia need to be addressed in road planning. Chocó is a part of Colombia close to Darien in Panama, boasting coasts on both the Pacific and the Caribbean. Chocó should be a hub focusing on the union between the two oceans. Instead it turns out to suffer the most miserable condition, due to negligence of Andean, Amazonian and Caribbean Colombia. Same happens in Venezuela at the Orinoco Belt. The Orinoco belt has the most extensive oil deposits in the world, but the towns in the southern llanos of Venezuela lack all infrastructure, as our country is developed mostly to the north or further south into Guyana. Arco Minero needs responsible mining because the environmental destruction is horrendous. Pollution is also evident in Lake Valencia and Lake Maracaibo. In Lake Valencia there is sewage and industrial waste, while in Lake Maracaibo there is petroleum waste. All development activities of oil and mining must include a percentage expenditure for environmental cleanup.

Cuba should not be forgotten or dismissed. Best way to unite South American and Caribbean continents is to acknowledge the existence of different types of governments, then try to unite them as Celac is doing. This 37 country project includes all the Americas except for Canada, because Canada has no territories in the south. The only part associated with the United States is Puerto Rico, which might eventually become independent. A ferry stop is proposed in San Juan, Puerto Rico needed to get from Cancún to Paria Peninsula, through the Caribbean traversing Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, United States Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, Antigua & Barbuda, San Kitts & Nevis, Dominica, St. Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Granada, Barbados, and Trinidad & Tobago.

Cultural and tourist attractions abound in 2,300 locations, scattered throughout the Americas. Each has a unique festival and tourist attraction to share for the benefit of the rest of the continent. An advanced South America and Caribbean planning of 37 countries, may be unified by: energy, mining, petroleum, artificial intelligence, space sector, online education on oil recovery and media production. At Escinetv we offer online courses in Spanish, leading to university equivalent degrees in cinematography. New fields of sustainable trade and environmentally friendly construction of roads and oil pipelines may be included for the benefit of all.

Venezuela has helped Cuba endure the embargo, Venezuela could also help Peru regain their historical 200,000 barrel a day output. Due to extensive oil leaks because of legacy, faulty technology and lack of maintenance, Peruvian oil industry has declined. We need a continental strategy with stiff, stringent measures of environmental awareness: just like the European Union applies. Such actually seems to be the path taken by Suriname, as it starts its petroleum industry from scratch. It will be interesting to see how these environmental regulations by Suriname will pay off.

Development awaits Southern parts of French Guyana and Suriname Tigri: featuring border disputes with Guyana. Guyana has border disputes with both Suriname and Venezuela. We should all live together and share our territories. We are South Americans: Simón Bolívar, Miguel de San Martín, all our liberators sought a united South America. Language should not be a barrier. They speak four languages in Switzerland. English and French are official languages in Canada. Why can't we do the same in South American countries? At least English, Spanish, and Portuguese, which are the three most spoken languages, should be an aim of basic proficiency for all our elementary schools. These projects that seem like a dream, but are achievable after a massive amount of combined work.