Venezuela Escalates Guyana Dispute, Plans to License Land
A pedestrian walks past a mural that reads "The Essequibo Is Ours," during a referendum vote in Caracas on Sunday.
Photographer: Gaby Oraa/BloombergVenezuelan President Nicolas Maduro further escalated tensions with neighboring Guyana over a disputed territory, ordering the country’s oil and mineral state companies to start granting licenses for deposits in the area known as the Essequibo.
Maduro also ordered foreign oil companies working in the disputed area to withdraw, asserting his right to do so after Venezuelan voters backed their nation’s control of the territory in a referendum Sunday. Guyana has insisted that the Essequibo is within its borders, and the matter is currently in front of the International Court of Justice, though Maduro has said he doesn’t recognize its jurisdiction.