After referendum: Maduro confirms his claim to be part of the heavy fighting in Guyana in southern Gaza – the night update without photos

Following a non-binding referendum, authoritarian Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has underlined his country’s claim to part of neighboring Guyana. According to a television report, the head of state announced during a government meeting on Tuesday that a Venezuelan state of Guayana Esequiba should be created and that oil production permits for the region should be granted according to Venezuelan law. He also showed a new map for schools in the South American country, on which the disputed part of neighboring Guyana has been designated as the 24th Venezuelan federal state.

According to the authoritarian government, a large part of the Venezuelan population supported the country’s claim to the resource-rich Essequibo region in neighboring Guyana in a referendum last weekend. The government of Guyana described the referendum as a threat to security and peace. The approximately 160,000 square kilometer Essequibo area covers approximately two-thirds of Guyana’s territory.

The current boundaries of the area were established in 1899 by an arbitration award from a tribunal in Paris, on the initiative of the US and Great Britain. Venezuela relies on a 1966 agreement with Britain – a few months before the then colony of British Guiana became independent. This provided a negotiated solution to the dispute. The border dispute worsened when large oil deposits were found off Essequibo’s Atlantic coast in 2015. Guyana, one of the poorest countries in South America, has granted production licenses to the American oil company Exxon Mobil. (rbu/sda/dpa)