Elections in Venezuela for oil -rich region that belongs to another country
Elections in Venezuela for oil -rich region that belongs to another country
On Sunday, the Venezuelans chose a governor and other MPs for Essequibo for the first time, an oil -rich region that claims Venezuela, although they generally as part of the neighboring Guyana is recognized.
Occupation and reactions
The 125,000 inhabitants of Essquibo, which make up more than 15 % of the population of the English -speaking country, did not take part in the election. Instead, the Venezuelans chose a new governor, six MPs for the National Assembly of Venezuela and seven for a regional legislative assembly. It remains unclear how the chosen officials want to manage the area that is controlled by Guyana.
a long -lasting territorial conflict
The choice is the latest provocation in a long -term territorial dispute between Venezuela and Guyana. It follows more than a year after President Nicolás Maduro the creation of a new state which is approximately as large as Florida and "Guayana and" Guayana ESEQUIBA "is called, according to a Referendum , at which Venezolan voters approved this step.
international reactions and security concerns
Guyana described Venezuela's actions as a step towards annexation and as a "existential" threat, while over the region the specter of an armed conflicts hovered. Maduró announced in January that the election for the region would take place as part of a nationwide election for governors and MPs. "I call up to a conscience for people and ask them to choose the best candidates for the governor elections in the 24 states," said Maduro on Telegram and described Essquibo as the 24th state of the country.
The choice has made Guyana on alert. President Irfaan Ali described the vote on Saturday as "scandalous, wrong, propaganda (and) opportunistic". Guyana has large oil reserves and is on the way to becoming the world's largest oil producer per capita. However, it has an army that is estimated to be less than 5,000 soldiers, and is missing from the hardware or manpower to meet possible Venezuelan aggression. In the meantime, the country Bleiben Sie informiert: Jeden Abend senden wir Ihnen die Artikel des Tages aus der Kategorie Veranstaltung – übersichtlich als Liste. On Sunday, the US State Department described the election on X as a "farce". "The United States rejected all attempts by Nicolás Maduro and his illegitimate regime to undermine the territorial integrity of Guyana, including this last election in the Essquibo region," wrote it off. Venezuela's Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López rejected the criticism on Sunday and explained: "We are based on historical, legal and moral foundations in relation to this area." Venezuela has been making demands on Essquibo for decades and argues that it was within its limits at the time of Spanish colonial. It has a judgment of 1899 that determined the current borders as invalid, while Guyana was still a British colony. Guyana has checked the region since its independence in 1966. The recent discoveries of huge offshore oil fields in the region have increased operations in the dispute. In 2018, Guyana submitted a application at the International Court of Justice to validate the decision of 1899. The case is still being checked. In the expectation of a final decision, the court called Month that Venezuela refrains from carrying out elections in the area. However, Caracas rejected the jurisdiction of the court on this matter. on Saturday, the night before the election of Venezuela and two days before Guyana's independence day, Guyanese official organized a National Patriotic concert in Essquibo to reaffirm their sovereignty over the country. At the event, thousands of people came together who swiveled the Guyanese flag and carried T-shirts, which said: "Essquibo belongs to Guyana." President Ali said to a cheering crowd: "Essquibo belongs to Guyana and we will do everything to make sure that Essquibo remains part of our 83,000 square miles forever." The attitude of the USA and Venezuelas
the decades of claim to Essquibo