Tensions between Venezuela and its neighbor Guyana have skyrocketed as Venezuelans head to the polls on Sunday to vote on the future of a disputed territory claimed by both South American nations.
The government called the referendum to gauge public opinion about the fate of the contested territory, which has been a bone of contention between Venezuela and Guyana for more than a century. The referendum will ask voters five questions, including whether they agree with the creation of a new state under Caracas' control in Essequibo.
However, Guyana has long controlled the region, and the territory accounts for more than two-thirds of the land currently administered by Georgetown. An 1899 ruling declared the mineral-rich region a part of Guyana, which was then a British colony.
A 1966 agreement between the U.K. and Venezuela to resolve the dispute has not stopped the flaring of tensions between the two countries, which intensified after oil and gas giant ExxonMobil said in 2015 it had made a "a significant oil discovery" in the region. Venezuela says the 1966 Geneva Agreement effectively undid the 1899 ruling made by international arbitrators.
Turmoil in Venezuela has prompted waves of migration from the Latin American country to the U.S., with its residents battling hyperinflation surpassing 350 percent this year. The oil-rich nation has struggled to keep its economy afloat, and Washington has leveled a range of sanctions against President Nicolás Maduro's government.
"There will be justice if everyone has a united voice" over the disputed territory, Maduro said ahead of the vote. Guyana's President, Irfaan Ali, said on Saturday that Venezuela should display "maturity" and "responsibility," adding: "We are your neighbors."
"People in the border region are very concerned," Hugh Todd, Guyana's foreign minister, told the Guardian in an article published on Friday.
It is not clear what the outcome of the referendum will be, or what action either country would take following the vote. "All options are on the table for the defense of our country," Guyana's vice-president, Bharrat Jagdeo, told local outlet The News Room on Saturday.
Brian Nichols, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, said earlier this year that Washington "supports Guyana's sovereign right to develop its own natural resources."
"Efforts to infringe upon Guyana's sovereignty are unacceptable," he said in a statement posted to X in mid-September. "The U.S. calls on Venezuela to "respect international law," including the 1899 ruling and the U.N.'s top court.
The International Court of Justice said on Friday that Caracas should not take any action that could change Guyana's control over the Essequibo region, but stopped short of blocking Venezuela's vote.
Guyana had asked the court to stop the referendum, suggesting Venezuela could take "unilateral measures to 'resolve' the controversy with Guyana by formally annexing and integrating into Venezuela all of the territory at issue."
U.N. Secretary General António Guterres was following the hike in tensions between the two countries "with concern," a spokesperson said last month, adding: "He trusts that both parties will demonstrate good faith and avoid any action that would aggravate or extend the controversy."
Brazil's Defense Ministry said earlier this week that it was bolstering its military across its northern border with Venezuela and Guyana. Brasilia is "monitoring the situation," and "defensive actions have been intensified in the northern border region of the country, promoting a greater military presence," it said, according to Reuters.
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