Nicaragua Supports Venezuela's Referendum on Essequibo

On Wednesday, the Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega expressed his support for Venezuela's referendum on the Essequibo and recognized the historical right of the Bolivarian nation over this territory.

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Ortega stressed that the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is fighting a battle for the independence and sovereignty of his country similar to the battle that the liberator Simon Bolivar and the commander Hugo Chavez fought in their time.

The Nicaraguan President also denounced that the Government of Guyana grants concessions to U.S. companies on territory that does not belong to it.

"With all rights, the Venezuelan brothers called for a referendum over a territory that the English stole from them," Ortega said, referring to the origin of the current territorial dispute in the 19th century.

The Nicaraguan president emphasized that Essequibo is a territory that was taken from Venezuela as a result of the interests of European and American companies.

On Dec. 3, Venezuela will hold a consultative referendum through which its citizen will rule on the sovereignty of their nation over Guayana Esequiba.

The dispute over the Essequibo region, an oil-rich area of about 160,000 square kilometers that belonged to the Spanish Captaincy of Venezuela, dates back to the late 19th century when the British Empire sought to expand its influence in South America.

In 1966, the Geneva Agreement recognized Venezuela's claim and proposed the search for satisfactory solutions for the practical settlement of the border dispute, following the parameters established in Article 33 of the United Nations Charter.