The presidents of South American countries Venezuela and Guyana met yesterday in the oil-rich Essequibo region's border dispute. A video released by the Venezuelan government showed President Nicolás Maduro with his counterpart Irfaan Ali. The meeting will take place in the island nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Venezuelan President Maduro considered the meeting an opportunity to “address the territorial controversy head on” and said his country would defend its rights. Guyanese President Ali, however, emphasized that he would not discuss the border dispute. This must be clarified before the International Court of Justice and not through negotiations.
Maduro refers to referendum
In early December, more than 10.4 million of the 20.7 million Venezuelans eligible to vote participated in a non-binding referendum and, according to government data, voted by a large majority in favor of Venezuela's claim to the territory of Essequibo, in Guyana. .
Shortly afterwards, Venezuelan President Maduro called for the area to be declared a Venezuelan province by law and for oil production licenses to be issued.
Oil reserves make the region more attractive
Venezuela has claimed Essequibo for more than a century. About 125,000 of the former British and Dutch colony's 800,000 residents live there. Caracas' desires increased after oil company ExxonMobil discovered an oil deposit in the area in 2015.
In October, another significant oil discovery was made in the region, increasing Guyana's reserves to more than those of oil-rich Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.