CNN —Venezuelans voted by a wide margin Sunday to approve the takeover of an oil-rich region in neighboring Guyana – the latest escalation in a long-running territorial dispute between the two countries, fueled by the recent discovery of vast offshore energy resources.
The area in question, the densely forested Essequibo region, amounts to about two-thirds of Guyana’s national territory and is roughly the size of Florida.
Venezuela has long claimed the land, which it argues was within its borders during the Spanish colonial period.
It dismisses an 1899 ruling by international arbitrators that set the current boundaries when Guyana was still a British colony, and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has cast the referendum in anti-imperialist sentiment on social media.
Still, the escalating rhetoric has prompted troop movements in the region and saber-rattling in both countries, drawing comparisons from Guyanese leaders to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Persons:
Nicolas Maduro, Irfaan Ali, Robert Persaud, Maria Corina Machado, Maduro, ”, Phil Gunson
Organizations:
CNN, Guyana –, Venezuelan, Electoral Council, Guyanese, Court of Justice, International Crisis
Locations:
Guyana, Essequibo, Florida, Venezuelan, Venezuela, British, The Hague, Ukraine, Guyanese, Caracas