Essequibo referendum: Is Venezuela about to seize part of Guyana?

Author: Editors Desk Source: France 24

December 3, 2023 at 22:39

A couple walks in front of a mural of the Venezuelan map with the Essequibo territory included, in Caracas, Venezuela on November 29, 2023. © Matias Delacroix, AP

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is organising a referendum on Sunday to decide whether to create a new state in the Essequibo territory, an area currently under the control of neighbouring Guyana. Does Caracas have the means for its territorial ambitions, or is it just political grandstanding?

On December 3, Venezuelans vote for or against the creation of a new Venezuelan state in the Essequibo region. In the eyes of Venezuelan authorities, it is a "consultative" referendum designed to put an end to over 200 years of territorial conflict.

However, there is one big problem: the land Venezuela wants to potentially extend control over is recognised by the international community as a part of neighbouring Guyana – a sparsely populated country with some 800,000 inhabitants.

The issue has become an obsession for populist President Nicolas Maduro, who often repeats the phrase "El Essequibo es Nuestro" [The Essequibo is ours] in his speeches.

Among four other questions, the referendum asks citizens whether they favour "the creation of the Essequibo state and the development of an accelerated plan for comprehensive care for the current and future population of that territory".

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