evidence: Dominica says not a word about Venezuelan Presidential decree 1787 that claimed Bird Island and territory of other states. Guyana and Columbia are shouting [...] "During a visit to Venezuela in 2006 Roosevelt Skerrit stated that Aves Island belongs to Venezuela, seemingly ending the territorial claim but not the maritime claim. They seemed to agree there would be a negotiation. However just saying so neither cemented the situation in law nor, from what I can discover, resulted in a maritime delimitation agreement," Jessop told The Sun in response to questions emailed to him. "So given a) the lack of any legal agreement and b) the absence of any maritime delimitation agreement with Dominica, it is fair to say that the Venezuelan base on Aves effectively gives them de facto control, but in the absence of any agreement or variance to the long term legal claims they do not appear to have de jure control unless there is a legal document or secret treaty," Jessop added.