On December 3rd, Venezuelans approved a referendum called by the government of President Nicolás Maduro to claim sovereignty over an oil- and mineral-rich area of neighboring Guyana that Venezuela argues was stolen when the border was created more than a century ago.

Although just how Maduro would implement the election results is still unknown, Guyana's citizens are uneasy about the referendum results since it implies possible annexation.

Despite the fact that few voters were visible at polling places during the voting period of the five-question referendum, the National Electoral Council declared that it had counted more than 10.5 million votes.

The council further did not clarify if the total number of votes represented all voters or the aggregate of each individual response.

After the results were revealed, Maduro told supporters gathered in the capital city of Caracas, "It has been a total success for our country, for our democracy."

There was a "very important level of participation" in the referendum, he said.

On Friday, the judges of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) barred Venezuela from taking any steps that may affect Guyana's sovereignty over Essequibo. However, they did not expressly forbid officials from conducting the five-question referendum on Sunday.

Guyana sought the ICJ to compel Venezuela to halt portions of the poll.

ICJ President, Joan E. Donoghue, stated in remarks explaining Friday's verdict that, although the practical and legal implications of the referendum are still unknown, statements from Venezuela's government suggests it "is taking steps with a view toward acquiring control over and administering the territory in dispute."

The 61,600-square-mile (159,500-square-kilometer) territory borders Brazil, which this week, according to a statement from the Defense Ministry, "intensified its defense actions" and increased its military presence in the area as a result of Venezuela’s referendum.

Essequibo makes up two-thirds of Guyana and is rich in minerals.

Furthermore, it provides access to a region of the Atlantic where oil giant ExxonMobil discovered commerciable oil reserves in 2015, a discovery that caught the Maduro government's interest.

For weeks, the Venezuelan government actively pushed for the referendum, portraying voting as a patriotic gesture and frequently confusing voting with endorsing Maduro.

Because Essequibo was within Venezuela’s borders during the Spanish colonial era, the nation has always claimed ownership of the territory.

It has long contested the border lines determined by international arbitrators in 1899, when Guyana was still a British colony.

Arbitrators from the United States, Russia, and Britain determined that boundary.

Due in part to the Venezuelan government's breakup with Great Britain, the United States represented Venezuela on the panel.

Venezuelan officials allege that a 1966 agreement to settle the case effectively annulled the initial arbitration. They further claim that Americans and Europeans collaborated to defraud their country out of the territory.

The only English-speaking nation in South America, Guyana believes the original agreement is enforceable and lawful.

In 2018, it requested the International Court of Justice to decide in favor of this position, but a ruling on the matter is still years away.

Yoonji Kim
Grade 12
The Madeira School