After a controversial referendum on the demarcation of the border with Guyana, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro called on Tuesday for the area under the jurisdiction of the South American neighbor to be declared a Venezuelan province by law and for licenses to be issued for the oil production.
At a cabinet meeting, Maduro proposed submitting a bill to the National Assembly to create a Venezuelan province in the Essequibo region. He also ordered the state oil company to “immediately” issue licenses for oil and gas production and mining in Essequibo.
AP/Matias Delacroix Venezuelan President Maduro is in favor of a Venezuelan province in the Essequibo region
Referendum: Venezuelans underline their demand
More than 10.4 million Venezuelans participated in the non-binding referendum on Sunday. According to the Venezuelan electoral authority, 95 percent of voters supported Venezuela’s claim to the Essequibo region, which is rich in oil and other resources. However, many observers doubted the numbers.
Guyana’s Attorney General Anil Nandlall said on Tuesday he would seek help from the UN Security Council if Venezuela took further action after the referendum. President Ali later said that Maduro’s comments “constituted a direct threat to the territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence of Guyana.”
“The Maduro government’s objective is to send a message of strength to Guyana,” Ricardo Sucre, a professor of politics at the Central University of Venezuela, said of the referendum. Essequibo, which is around 160,000 square kilometers, represents more than two-thirds of the land area of the former British colony. 125,000 of Guyana’s 800,000 inhabitants live there.
APA/AFP/Martin Silva In October, another important oil discovery was made in the Essequibo region
More oil than in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates
Venezuela has claimed the region as its own for more than a century. The current boundaries of the area were established in 1899 by an arbitration decision by a court in Paris, initiated by the USA and Great Britain. Venezuela depends on a 1966 agreement with the United Kingdom – just months before the then colony of British Guiana became independent. This provided a negotiated solution to the dispute.
The desire has increased in recent years, especially after the oil company ExxonMobil discovered an oil deposit in the area in 2015. In October of this year, another significant oil discovery was made in the region, increasing Guyana’s reserves to at least ten billion barrels – more than those in oil-rich Kuwait or the United Arab Emirates.
Tiny Guyana – one of the poorest countries in South America – has the largest per capita oil reserves in the world, while neighboring Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves overall. However, the country is suffering an ongoing economic crisis. The maritime border between the two countries is also controversial.
China appeals: resolve the dispute
China, Venezuela’s ally, called on the two countries to resolve the dispute. “China has always respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in Beijing on Wednesday. China “has always supported Venezuela and Guyana in properly resolving border issues.”
This is also important for stability in the region. Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said on Wednesday that he sees no risk of armed conflict between neighbors Guyana and Venezuela.
The United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday ordered Venezuela to “refrain from any action that could alter the current situation in the disputed territory.” Last April, the ICJ declared itself responsible for the territorial dispute, but for years it did not promise a verdict. However, with Sunday’s referendum, Venezuelans rejected the jurisdiction of the ICJ, according to the government.