2023-12-03 08:30:03
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelans were voting Sunday in a referendum supposedly to decide the future of a large region of neighboring Guyana that their government claims as its own, arguing that the territory was stolen when a border was drawn. north to south a century ago.
Guyana considers the referendum a step towards annexation and the consultation has put its residents on edge. The vote asks Venezuelans if they favor establishing a state in the disputed territory, Essequibo, granting citizenship to current and future residents of the area and rejecting the jurisdiction of the United Nations’ highest court to resolve the dispute between the two South American countries.
The International Court of Justice on Friday ordered Venezuela not to take any action that would affect Guyana’s control over Essequibo, but the judges did not specifically prohibit the holding of the five-question referendum. Guyana had asked the court to partially veto the Venezuelan vote.
The legal and practical implications of the referendum remain unclear. But in comments explaining Friday’s verdict, the international court’s president, Joan E. Donoghue, said the Venezuelan government’s statements suggested that it “is taking steps with a view to taking control and administering the disputed territory.”
“Moreover, Venezuelan military officials announced that Venezuela is taking concrete steps to build a landing strip that will serve as ‘logistical support for the comprehensive development of Essequibo,’” he said.
The 159,500 square kilometer (61,600 square mile) territory makes up two-thirds of Guyana and also borders Brazil, whose Ministry of Defense said in a statement this week that it has “intensified its defensive actions” and reinforced its military presence in the region as a result. of the dispute.
Essequibo is larger than Greece and rich in minerals. It also provides access to an area of the Atlantic Ocean where oil was discovered in commercial quantities in 2015, attracting the attention of the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Venezuela’s government has promoted the referendum for weeks, framing participation as an act of patriotism and often equating it with a show of support for Maduro.
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