Venezuela Rejects Guyana's Attempt to Appropriate Essequibo

On Sunday, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said that his country will never accept the use of "expressions of judicial colonialism" to resolve the controversy with Guyana over the Essequibo, a territory of almost 160,000 square kilometers rich in natural resources.

RELATED:

Venezuela Rejects UNSG Statements on Essequibo Dispute

"Unlike other territory-related conflicts in the world, this is the only controversy that has a law between the parties and we will never accept expressions of judicial colonialism," she said in an interview with the private channel Venevision.

Rodriguez recalled that Venezuela recognizes as the only legal instrument to resolve this controversy the 1966 Geneva Agreement. Signed with the United Kingdom in 1966, this document establishes bases for a negotiated solution.

The Geneva Agreement will be in force "until the parties find a solution that is satisfactory and practical for both parties through direct and peaceful political negotiations," she said.

Given that Venezuela has historically claimed the 1966 agreement, it "does not recognize the mandatory and automatic jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ)," an institution that declared itself competent to resolve the territorial dispute.

Rodriguez also defended Venezuela's constitutional and sovereign right to call a referendum in Dec. 3, a day when Venezuelans would speak out regarding this controversy.

When the Bolivarian vice president was consulted about the Guyanese government's request to the ICJ to suspend that referendum, she stressed that such a stance is a cry of despair.

"What Guyana is doing is interfering in Venezuelan internal affairs. Guyana is once again behaving like what it has learned to be: a colonialist and imperialist conclave," she said.

"Exxon Mobil and Guyana have created a script to strip Venezuela of its territory. In national unity, we will raise our voice on December 3."