Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is pressing ahead with plans to take over the oil-rich region of Essequibo, controlled by Guyana, by ordering the state oil company to grant oil production licences in the region, proposing legislation in the National Assembly to incorporate it into Venezuela. Tensions rose when on Sunday Venezuelan voters backed the incorporation of Essequibo into Venezuela in a referendum, on Wednesday, the 6th of December, reports the BBC.
In response, Guyana put its defence forces on high alert.
Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali criticised the Venezuelan President’s action on Facebook, describing it as “missteps”. President Ali has contacted the UN and asked for the Security Council’s intervention because he believes that Venezuela’s actions are
a direct threat to Guyana’s “territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence”,
according to the BBC. President Ali has also reassured investors, particularly oil companies, that their investments are safe.
Brazil announced on Wednesday that it is reinforcing its military presence along its borders with Guyana and Venezuela, sending additional troops and armoured vehicles.
More than 95% of voters approved the creation of a new Venezuelan state in the disputed Essequibo region in a referendum on Sunday. Although only two million people voted in the referendum, around 10% of the eligible electorate, there is widespread support for incorporating Essequibo into Venezuela, says the BBC.
The issue is currently being examined by the International Court of Justice, which has warned Venezuela not to take any action that could change the status quo in Essequibo.
The Essequibo region has belonged to Guyana for more than a century, but Venezuela has persistently sought to control it.
The discovery of oil in waters off Essequibo in 2015 escalated the dispute, with tensions rising after Guyana auctioned its waters exploration permits in September 2023.
Guyana’s economic growth has been largely fuelled by oil, making it one of the world’s fastest growing economies. By contrast, Venezuela, which is struggling with a protracted economic crisis exacerbated by US sanctions on oil trade, has the world’s largest oil reserves, reports the BBC.
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