The fight for the rich and precious region of Essequibo continues. This April 4, the Government of Guyana condemned that the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, promulgated a “defense law” on the disputed area. Maduro reaffirmed the sovereignty of his country in that region and also denounced the installation of “secret military bases” of the United States in that territory. Guyana, which has administered Essequibo for decades, responded that it will use all international legal resources in its favor.
The Government of Guyana said this Thursday, April 4 that “will not tolerate the annexation of any part of its territory”, one day after the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro will promulgate a “defense law” of the Essequibo region, a territory rich in oil and natural resources.
The Guyanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed that it will not allow interference in its territory, in a message to the Government of Venezuela and also sent to the countries of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), to the members of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac ), as well as the secretaries general of the UN and the Organization of American States (OAS).
“Guyana has always respected the principles of the United Nations Charter, the rule of law and the peaceful settlement of disputes,” the note emphasizes.
The statement accuses President Nicolás Maduro of violating an agreement that was agreed on December 14 with his Guyanese counterpart, Irfaan Ali, in which he committed to Venezuela would not threaten or use force in bilateral conflicts.
Georgetown assures that Caracas violates the principles of the United Nations Charter by attempting to annex plus two thirds of the territory which for more than five decades has been administered by Guyana, when it gained its independence from the United Kingdom.
From Caracas, President Maduro said that his counterpart Ali does not govern his country, which is governed by the US military and the ExxonMobil company – in charge of oil exploitation in the disputed territory -, which the Guyana Foreign Ministry described as “offensive and unworthy statements”.
The law of discord
One day before, on April 3, President Maduro promulgated the so-called “Organic Law for the Defense of Guayana Esequiba”, with which it seeks to develop the legal mechanisms to exercise sovereignty in the disputed territory.
A movement that occurs four months after a referendum was held, in which, according to the results, more than 90% of Venezuelans approved annexing the area of dispute with Guyana to the map of the country.
In his speech, from the room that protects the Venezuelan Independence Act, the head of state (Maduro) highlighted that this law derives from the mandate of the people that was pronounced in the consultative referendum on December 3, 2023,” reads in a statement published by the National Assembly (Parliament.
The Organic Law for the Defense of Guayana Esequiba was designed after the referendum held in December (with approval of 96.3% of the votes) on the annexation of the disputed region and designates the territory, of 160,000 km2, as a new state of Venezuela.
In the new law, “the creation of the Guayana Esequiba state is established, and, in article 19, a High Commission is created that will be the decision-making body regarding the state (,,,) In article 23, it is prohibited the political map of Venezuela without the state of Guayana Esequiba,” according to a statement from Parliament.
“The referendum confirmed that the Essequibo territory belongs to Venezuela,” said Maduro from Caracas.
“The United States has secret military bases in Essequibo”
Maduro also attacked the United States on Wednesday by ensuring that that Government maintains secret military bases in Essequibo, with which they plan to “attack” the city of Tumeremo, chosen by Caracas as the capital of its self-proclaimed new state.
“We have proven information, (…) they have installed secret military bases of the (US) Southern Command, military nuclei of the Southern Command and nuclei of the (US Central Intelligence Agency) CIA to prepare attacks,” said the president during a political event.
According to the Venezuelan president, the US authorities have control over Congress, the opposition, the defense and political forces, and in general all power in Guyana.
Why so much interest in Essequibo?
Essequibo is a region with access to the Caribbean Sea, it has an approximate area of 160,000 square kilometers, rich in minerals – many of them still unknown and under exploration – as well as oil, of which the Government of Guyana has reported that it currently extracts about 645,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
![Guyana, Essequibo and Venezuela](https://s.france24.com/media/display/ab3e936e-9ae3-11ee-a297-005056bf30b7/DLS%20WEB%2014DIC%20ESEQUIBO%202.png)
This is an area disputed for more than 180 years and which Venezuela argues was stolen from it at the end of the 19th century, when the United Kingdom drew the border of the territory it controlled at that time.
Currently, the Essequibo region represents an important source of income for Guyana, which is not only limited to the extraction of oil and minerals, but also the supply of foods such as fruits, vegetables and rice.
Since the independence of the two countries, Venezuela and Guyana have gone through different stages marked by claims and accusations, but also by tranquility, after in the 2000s the then president, Hugo Chávez will withdraw his intentions to control the Essequibo.
![Link](https://s.france24.com/media/display/5f504fc4-edb8-11ee-8008-005056bf30b7/w:980/p:16x9/m:{"brand":"FRANCE24","lang":"ES","program":"","cartouche":"ESEQUIBO","hash":"bac4ed2b9bbd36c717941e78e7a9d78f1892c87816c56e6ddeb2f7cae596df78","title":"Una%20batalla%20por%20recursos%20y%20soberan%C3%ADa","id":"25aba80c-45fb-11ec-90e2-005056bf30b7"}/capture-21862249660699f625a525.62822993.jpg)
But since 2015, after abundant oil deposits were discovered on the coasts of the Essequiba Caribbean, President Nicolás Maduro resumed his intentions to exercise sovereignty over that territory.
Maduro argues for a bilateral agreement from 1966 that recognizes the Geneva Agreement as a legal instrument, while Guyana relies on an arbitration award from 1899 and is committed to resolving the conflict through the International Court of Justice.
With EFE and local media
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