CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s government on Friday rejected a ruling from the United Nations’ top court ordering the South American country to refrain from holding elections for officials who supposedly would oversee a resource-rich region in neighboring Guyana that both nations claim as their own.
The government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a statement underscored its historical position to not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice and asserted that international law does not allow the body to “interfere” or “attempt to prohibit” an election.
The government’s statement came a day after the court, based in The Hague, issued the ruling at the request of Guyana, which accused Venezuela of violating an earlier order by planning to hold elections May 25 for a governor and other officials to administer the Essequibo region.
The Essequibo “is an inalienable part of the Venezuelan territory and a legacy of our liberators,” according to the statement. “Its defense is a historical, constitutional, and a moral mandate that unites the entire Bolivarian Homeland. No international pressure, judicial blackmail, or foreign tribunal will make us back down from this conviction.”
The area under dispute represents two-thirds of Guyana and is rich in gold, diamonds, timber and other natural resources. It also is located close to massive offshore oil deposits, with current production averaging some 650,000 barrels per day.
Venezuela has always considered Essequibo as its own because the region was within its boundaries during the Spanish colonial period. It has long dismissed the border drawn by international arbitrators in 1899, when Guyana was still a British colony.
After years of fruitless mediation, Guyana asked the world court in 2018 to rule that the 1899 border decision is valid and binding. Venezuela argues that a 1966 agreement to resolve the dispute effectively nullified the original arbitration.
The case is still pending in court while tensions between the two countries keep rising.
In late 2023, Maduro threatened to annex the region by force after holding a referendum asking voters if Essequibo should be turned into a Venezuelan state. Days later, Caribbean leaders, joined by Brazil and the U.N., held an emergency summit where Guyana and Venezuela agreed to refrain from using force. But the dispute continues.
In March, Guyana’s president denounced an incursion by an armed Venezuelan naval vessel in disputed waters that are home to a major offshore oil deposit being developed by ExxonMobil. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez disputed Ali’s claims and called ExxonMobil’s oil installations “illegal.”
Venezuelan voters will head to the polls later this month to elect governors and lawmakers.
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