Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro insisted Monday that next Thursday's talks in St Vicent and the Grenadines between him and his Guyanese colleague Irfaan Ali were the direct result of the Dec. 3 referendum and, hence, an achievement of the Venezuelan people.
The Brazilian Government of President Luiz Inácio Lula a Silva shall be sending a delegation headed by former Foreign Minister and current presidential advisor on international affairs Celso Amorim to Thursday's meeting between the leaders of Guyana and Venezuelan in St Vincent and the Grenadines to discuss the Guiana Essequiba issue, it was reported in Brasilia.
Guyanese President Irfaan Ali said that Venezuela's latest actions regarding the dispute over the Guaiana Essequiba were a regional threat and hoped Nicolás Maduro's regime would not act in an adventurous and very irresponsible manner.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Tuesday announced the creation of a military division for the Guiana Essequiba area, which the country claims as its own, particularly after Sunday's referendum, it was reported in Caracas. The Essequibo is home to 125,000 of Guyana's 800,000 citizens.
Although Venezuela does not have since 1899 the effective control of the Essequibo area disputed with Guyana, President Nicolás Maduro announced Tuesday that he planned to grant oil-drilling licenses after Sunday's referendum recognized the South American country's alleged rights over the territory.
Despite a poor turnout, Venezuelan authorities Sunday confirmed 95.93% of 10,554,320 voting Venezuelans replied aye in a non-binding referendum to the question of whether or not to annex the Essequiba Guiana, a 160,000 square-kilometer region the country claims as its own but which has been under Guyanan control for over a century.
Venezuela will press on with a weekend referendum over the fate of a vast disputed area in the Esequibo region it claims, disputing neighboring Guyana's jurisdiction, despite the UN International Court of Justice, ICJ, Friday ruling urging restraint in the dispute.
Brazil announced “intensified defensive actions” along its northern border fearing a possible invasion of Guyana by the dictatorial regime of President Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela. This Friday the UN International Court is expected to halt a referendum, on a disputed area between the two neighbors, which is seen as an exercise in forced annexation by Venezuela.
Control Ciudadano (Social Watch - CC) Chairwoman Rocío San Miguel said Guyanese President Irfaan Alí's recent statements regarding the military support of several countries to defend the Essequibo amounted to a “very strong warning for Venezuela,” which will hold a referendum on the matter on Dec. 3.
Paraguay and Venezuela agreed on Wednesday to resume diplomatic ties cut under former Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez in January 2019. At that time, the then-president of Venezuela's National Assembly, Juan Guaidó, proclaimed himself president of a government that ended up in exile despite the backing of the international community and eventually vanished like a soap bubble.