Venezuelans voted to claim rich region of Guyana. Will it happen?

Payton Davis
·2 min read
6
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro speaks during the notification ceremony for the referendum about the future of a disputed territory with Guyana, in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, Dec. 4, 2023.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro speaks during the notification ceremony for the referendum about the future of a disputed territory with Guyana, in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, Dec. 4, 2023. | Ariana Cubillos, Associated Press

A referendum in Venezuela passed over the week for the country to claim an oil-rich part of neighbor nation Guyana.

The vote and its final count raised many questions.

According to The Associated Press, low turnout and enthusiasm over the referendum show the “tone deaf” Venezuelan government is losing influence. CNN called the vote “largely symbolic.”

There has, however, been a territorial dispute between Venezuela and Guyana since the discovery of “vast offshore energy resources” in Guyana’s Essequibo region, according to CNN. Guyana has denounced the referendum, The Associated Press reported.

What is Essequibo?

According to CNBC, Essequibo is a region that makes up two-thirds of Guyana. Oil reserves off its coast make it sought after.

Essequibo is “larger than Greece and rich in minerals,” according to The Associated Press.

According to NBC News, President Nicolás Maduro argues that Essequibo was stolen more than a century ago when borders between Venezuela and Guyana were drawn. During the Spanish colonial period, Essequibo was within Venezuela’s boundaries. The border was decided in 1899, The Associated Press reported.

Tensions escalated in 2015, when oil in commercial quantities was discovered in Essequibo, according to The Associated Press.

“Venezuela believes that Guyana has no right to grant oil concessions in the maritime areas off the disputed territory,” CNBC reported.

Guyana is the only English-speaking country in South America, according to NBC News.

Aftermath of referendum

While few details are concrete on how Venezuela could proceed, not to mention the predicted international reaction to such a move, the vote and other tensions between Venezuela and Guyana have prompted “troop movements” in the region, according to CNN.

Guyanese leaders have compared Venezuela’s saber-rattling to that of Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, CNN reported.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva weighed in on the referendum, saying he hopes that “common sense prevails, on the side of Venezuela and Guyana,” according to The Associated Press.

Questions over the legitimacy of the weekend vote and other recent Venezuelan elections form the backdrop of today’s debate over Essequibo, according to NBC News.