Disputed territory of Essequibo is larger than Greece, rich in minerals and gives access to part of the Atlantic boasting oil in commercial quantities
Venezuelans have approved a referendum called by the government of President Nicolás Maduro to claim sovereignty over an oil- and mineral-rich piece of neighbouring Guyana, the country’s electoral authority announced.
Few voters could be seen at voting centres, but the National Electoral Council claimed more than 10.5 million ballots were cast in the country of 20 million eligible voters.
Venezuela has long argued the territory, which comprises two-thirds of Guyana, was stolen when the border was drawn more than a century ago. But Guyana considers the referendum a step toward annexation, and the vote has its residents on edge.
Few voters could be seen at voting centres, but the National Electoral Council claimed more than 10.5 million ballots were cast in the country of 20 million eligible voters.
😬
What’s funny is they they didn’t even need to bullshit. Claiming Esequibo is a popular cause in Venezuela since Venezuela became independent. But I guess if you allow free elections once people might expect you to do it again
So Venezuela(probably just their government) voted to annex a country? That’s been working out so well for people these days.
allegedly voted so
Yea this is a significant point
It’s been disputed since the beginning. Far as I know, the British took over the territory, sent out a surveyor to figure out the borders, and the surveyor marked the map to take more land than was expected, and the British did British things & basically stole a shit ton of Venezuelan land. Venezuela has never been ok with it, and never really accepted the British-set borders.
So the dictator is probably in political heat, and needs to distract the remaining population from the rest of their problems.
I don’t think that Venezuela’s government actually intends to do more than talk and score some political points with nationalist voters. It’s not going to invade.
Guyana’s in a defensive military alliance with almost all the other countries in the Americas, excluding a few (like Venezuela). Notably, the US is in, and a collective defense pact like this this bypasses Russia’s ability to veto military intervention by the US at the UNSC.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inter-American_Treaty_of_Reciprocal_Assistance
The Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (commonly known as the Rio Treaty, the Rio Pact, the Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, or by the Spanish-language acronym TIAR from Tratado Interamericano de Asistencia Recíproca) is an agreement signed in 1947 in Rio de Janeiro among many countries of the Americas.[2] The central principle contained in its articles is that an attack against one is to be considered an attack against them all; this was known as the “hemispheric defense” doctrine.
Article 51
Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken the measures necessary to maintain international peace and security.
I doubt that Maduro has any intention whatsoever of kicking off a war with the US, much less most of the rest of the Western Hemisphere.
The Wikipedia article you linked actually shows Guyana as not part of the TIAR, whereas Venezuela actually is.
Oh, you’re right about Guyana. Guess they were one of the few that didn’t join.
But Venezuela isn’t in – they left some time back.
Oh, thank you. That’s good to hear. Won’t the referendum backlash against his administration then, since it’s toothless?
Or you think it’s specifically to score points with those who already support his regime, just a hawkish declaration?
Still seems politically risky if he isn’t going to do anything about it.
Won’t the referendum backlash against his administration then, since it’s toothless?
I mean, I don’t follow Venezuelan politics, but I would expect that he’s worded the thing in such a way that doesn’t actually commit him to doing much.
Elections in Venezuela are next year, and it looks like he’s not so popular at the moment. But if he can spend time before the election visibly taking a position that sells well with voters…shrugs
googles
Yeah, here’s the referendum text. It doesn’t bind him to actually do anything, just asks voters whether they agree with maintaining the dispute:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Venezuelan_referendum#Questions
Aww yes because imperialism is based if it’s done by “democratic vote”
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Venezuelans have approved a referendum called by the government of President Nicolás Maduro to claim sovereignty over an oil- and mineral-rich piece of neighbouring Guyana, the country’s electoral authority announced.
Venezuelan voters were asked whether they support establishing a state in the disputed territory, known as Essequibo, granting citizenship to current and future residents and rejecting the jurisdiction of the United Nations’ top court in settling the disagreement between the South American countries.
“It has been a total success for our country, for our democracy,” Maduro told supporters gathered in Caracas, the capital, after the results were announced, before highlighting the “very important level of participation of the people” in the referendum.
Still, before the 12-hour voting window was scheduled to end, the country’s top electoral authority official, Elvis Amoroso, announced polls would remain open for two additional hours because of what he described as “massive participation”.
The international court of justice (ICJ) on Friday ordered Venezuela not to take any action that would alter Guyana’s control over Essequibo, but the judges did not specifically ban officials from carrying out Sunday’s five-question referendum.
Although the practical and legal implications of the referendum remain unclear, in comments explaining Friday’s verdict, ICJ president Joan E Donoghue said statements from Venezuela’s government suggested it “is taking steps with a view toward acquiring control over and administering the territory in dispute”.
The original article contains 753 words, the summary contains 227 words. Saved 70%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is… not going to end well.
I feel like I’m living in Fahrenheit 451.
Aww yes because imperialism is based if it’s done by “democratic vote”
