presidents of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, and Guyana, Irfaan Ali, met in St Vincent and the Grenadines against a backdrop of rising tensions between the two governments over the fate of the disputed territory of Essequibo. The gap between their positions was exemplified by the statements they issued in the lead up to the meeting. Maduro welcomed the talks as an opportunity to take “the path of dialogue with Guyana, in order to achieve a practical solution to the controversy”