CARACAS (Reuters) – Guyana will remain vigilant after a Venezuelan referendum rejected an international court’s jurisdiction over a territorial dispute between the neighboring countries, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said on Monday.
Bilateral tensions over the potentially oil-rich Esequibo region have increased in recent weeks in the run-up to the five-question referendum, which Guyana unsuccessfully asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to ban.
The US State Department said on Monday that it supports a peaceful resolution of the dispute and that the issue cannot be resolved by a referendum.
Venezuelans on Sunday supported the rejection of the ICJ’s jurisdiction over the dispute and the creation of a new state in Esequibo. Analysts have said the vote was an attempt by President Nicolas Maduro to gauge his government’s support ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
The International Court of Justice has banned Venezuela from taking any action that would change the status quo in the region, although a court ruling on the overall dispute could take years.
Maduro has assured Caribbean countries that he will not invade the region, Jagdeo said, but Guyana will not let its guard down.
“The leadership in Guyana cannot simply get assurances from the Maduro government that they will not invade the country,” Jagdeo told local media in an interview from Dubai, where he is attending the Conference of the Parties (COP28) climate summit. attends. “We must be prepared for any eventuality.”
“We must be very vigilant in the coming period because the Venezuelan leadership has shown itself to be very unpredictable,” Jagdeo said, calling on Guyanese to remain calm and saying the country has stepped up defense coordination with allies.
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Venezuela has reactivated its claim to 160,000 square kilometers around the Esequibo River in recent years, following the discovery of offshore oil and gas. The maritime border between the two countries is also under discussion.
Venezuela’s election authority said on Sunday that all questions were passed with more than 95% approval and that at least 10.5 million ‘yes’ votes were cast.
On Monday, the authority’s head said the 10.5 million figure referred to voters, not votes.
Jagdeo called the vote “rigged” and questioned the turnout figures.
Reuters witnesses saw several poorly attended polling stations on Sunday.
“The mandate of the people is sacred,” Maduro said at an event on Monday. “That is the path by which I, as head of state, will take all my actions and all our actions from now on.”
“A new era in the struggle for our Guayana Esequiba has begun,” he added, using the proposed name for the new Venezuelan state. “Now we will regain Venezuela’s historic rights.”
