At the UN’s top court, Venezuela vows to press ahead with referendum on future of disputed region

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Venezuela’s vice president on Wednesday vowed that her country will press ahead with a referendum on the future of a large tract of mineral-rich territory that it claims in a long-running dispute with neighboring Guyana.

Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was speaking on the second day of hearings into a request by Guyana for the United Nations’ top court to order a halt to parts of a consultative referendum in December on the future of the Essequibo region, which makes up some two-thirds of Guyana.

“Venezuela reaffirms its categorical rejection of Guyana’s audacious action to interfere in its internal affairs. Nothing will prevent the referendum scheduled for Dec. 3 from being held,” Rodríguez told judges at the International Court of Justice.

She added that her appearance at the court’s headquarters in the ornate Peace Palace in The Hague “in no way implies recognition of the jurisdiction of this honorable court over the territorial dispute concerning Guyana.”

On Tuesday, Guyana’s legal team called the consultative referendum an “existential threat” designed to pave the way for the annexation of the Essequibo by Venezuela.

The hearings are the latest development in a legal dispute between the South American neighbors that dates back to an arbitration award by an international tribunal in 1899 that drew the border between them.

Guyana launched a case at the world court in 2018 seeking to have U.N. judges uphold the 1899 ruling. Venezuela argues that a 1966 agreement to resolve the dispute effectively nullified the original arbitration decision.

Frictions between the countries have increased since 2015 as a result of oil exploration operations by ExxonMobil and other companies in offshore areas intersecting the disputed territory.

The Venezuelan government maintains that Guyana does not have the right to grant concessions in maritime areas off the Essequibo.

“Guyana has put its institutions and its territory in the service of the major powers that have always aspired to destroy Venezuela in order to grab some of the largest world reserves of oil, gold and gas,” Rodríguez said.

The Dec. 3 referendum was proposed by Venezuela’s National Assembly, approved by the National Electoral Council and cleared by the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, all controlled by supporters of President Nicolás Maduro.

Maduro and his allies are encouraging voters to answer “yes” to all questions, one of which calls for the creation of a state in the territory and granting Venezuelan citizenship to current and future area residents.

At the end of Wednesday’s hearing, the court’s president, Joan E. Donoghue, said judges would deliver their decision on Guyana’s request “as soon as possible.”