Venezuela increases tensions in Essequibo

Guyanese President Irfaan Ali has claimed that Venezuela's signing of the “Organic Law for the Defense of Guayana Esequiba” on 3 April, “cements Venezuela’s intent to annex more than two-thirds of Guyana’s sovereign territory and make it part of Venezuela”.

According to the President of Venezuela the law is the continued implementation of the results of the 3 December 2023 referendum, regarding Venezuela's claim on the Guayana Esequiba region. He added that the law “establishes the creation of state number 24, the state of Guayana Esequiba within the political and territorial organization of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela”. The law also rejects the validity of the 1899 Paris Arbitral Award and ICJ’s jurisdiction on this issue.

Guyana believes that this is another step by Venezuela "to implement its plan for the seizure of our sovereign territory”, according to President Ali, who in a letter to the UN Security Council also rejected "recent claims made by Maduro that the US has installed bases of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Essequibo, calling it a “dangerous narrative”.