Venezuela will hold a referendum on annexing territory from Guyana

Venezuela is set to hold a referendum to annex one of Guyana’s territories to the country. The announcement was made by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on his X (formerly Twitter) profile on Friday (November 10, 2023). The northernmost country in South America said that this announcement was provocative and that any decision would not have any international legal effect.

The Essequibo or Guyana-Essequiba region has been disputed between the two countries for more than a century. The area of ​​the site is 160,000 square kilometers, and it is managed by Guyana, headed by Irfan Ali, and Venezuela wants to annex an area representing more than half of the area of ​​the neighboring country.

Guyana has an area of ​​214,969 square kilometers and a population of 800,000. The official languages ​​are English and Urdu, in addition to other regional languages. The currency is the Guyanese dollar.

“In the next #3Dic referendum (December 3) our people will decide their future and destiny democratically. On a day that calls on all of us, beyond differences, to defend our lands and respect our sovereignty. Essequibo of Venezuela!Maduro announced.

The Government of Guyana said on Saturday (November 11, 2023) that the referendum is an international crime and said that Venezuela is trying to weaken the territorial integrity of the sovereign nation of Guyana. here complete Statement (PDF – 19 KB, in English).

The country insists that the treaty signed in Washington on February 2, 1897, which defined the dividing line between the colony of British Guiana and the United States of Venezuela in 1899. The United Kingdom and Venezuela agreed that the outcome of the agreement would serve as a solution.Complete, complete and final“.

“For more than 6 decades, the border has been internationally recognized, accepted and respected by Venezuela, Guyana and the international community as the land border between the two countries.“, said the country’s government.

Guyana said that the referendum was provocative, illegal, invalid, and had no international legal effect.