Gonçalves will host the meeting as Acting Chair of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), which will also be attended by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Several countries in South America called on Venezuela and Guyana to find a peaceful solution to the conflict. Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru issued a joint statement warning against “unilateral measures” that “could lead to further tensions.”
Venezuela claims the oil-rich Essequibo region, which has belonged to Guyana for more than a century. Of the 800,000 Guyanese citizens, about 125,000 live in the Essequibo region, which represents about two-thirds of Guyana’s territory. According to Guyana, the current borders were determined by an arbitration court in 1899. Venezuela, on the other hand, claims that the Essequibo River in the eastern part of the region forms a natural border, which was recognized as early as 1777.
In 2015, the oil company ExxonMobil discovered an oil field in the Essequibo region. In October, another major oil discovery was made in the region, increasing Guyana’s reserves to at least ten billion barrels – more than those of oil-rich Kuwait or the United Arab Emirates.
More than 10.4 million of the 20.7 million Venezuelan citizens entitled to vote cast their votes in a non-binding referendum on Venezuela’s territorial claims a week ago. Following the referendum, President Maduro called for the territory to be legally declared a Venezuelan province and for permits to be issued for oil extraction.
(In opening photo: Argentine President Alberto Fernández (B) welcomes Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, to the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Summit in Buenos Aires on January 24, 2023.)
