Venezuela's territorial claims to Guyana supported by 95% - Agence France Presse
Kyiv • UNN
In a non-binding referendum, 95% of Venezuelan voters supported the country's claim to a large part of oil-rich Guyana. So far, the claim is not an annexation, but rather a show of force amid the attention to oil fields.
Venezuelan electoral authorities said on Sunday that 95 percent of of voters in a non-binding referendum approved the nation's territorial claim to a huge part of neighboring oil-rich Guyana. This is reported by UNN with reference to AFP.
Details
About 10.5 million of Venezuela's 20.7 million voters in a non-binding national referendum referendum approved the country's territorial claims to a huge part of of neighboring Guyana.
The referendum included five questions five issues, including proposals to create a Venezuelan province called "Guyana-Essequibo", granting its residents Venezuelan citizenship, as well as a call to renounce the jurisdiction of the of the International Court of Justice.
President of the National Electoral Council Elvis Amoroso claimed victory, referring to the oil-rich region controlled by Guyana, to which Venezuela allegedly has a right under a long-standing claim.
This is a clear and overwhelming victory for the 'Yes' side in this consultative referendum for Essequibo
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At the same time, the it is reported that Maduro's government is not looking for an excuse to invade or annex vast territory, as is feared in Guyana, an English-speaking former British colony. British colony.
Meanwhile, in Guyana, thousands of people, some of them wearing T-shirts that read "Essequibo belongs to Guyana", formed human chains in solidarity with their government, and their President assured them that the country's borders were secure.
Background
This is a 160,000 square kilometer a region of 160,000 square kilometers (61,776 square miles), which mostly consists of dense jungle. Venezuela has renewed its claim to the this territory in recent years after the discovery of offshore oil and gas fields. According to to Ricardo Sucre, a professor of politics at the Central University of Venezuela, quoted by Reuters, the goal of the Venezuelan government (Maduro) is to "send a signal of strength to Guyana" as Maduro is also thinking about potential oil and gas developments.
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