2023-12-06 16:11:46
Esequibo – The President of Guyana, Irfaan Ali, estimated on Tuesday that the statements made by his Venezuelan counterpart constituted “a direct threat”, after Nicolas Maduro ordered state oil companies to “immediately” begin exploring and extracting oil, gas and minerals in the Guyanese region of Esequibo, a territory hitherto under Guyanese administration and which Venezuela claims as its own.
Published on: 06/12/2023 – 15:11
1 min
President Nicolas Maduro proposed that the country adopt a special law prohibiting the signing of contracts with companies working under concessions that have been granted by Guyana and, further, requesting that a law be enacted to create the province of Guyana Esequiba and, that a population census be conducted there and identity cards issued to the population.
Nicolas Maduro set out a three-month deadline for companies operating under a Guyanese concession to withdraw from the area “to be delimited”, adding, however, that it remains “open to discussion”.
The Venezuelan President suggested reaching a “fair, friendly diplomatic agreement that satisfies both parties”, while reaffirming that Venezuela would recover the Esequibo, where vast oil reserves had been discovered in 2015.
Nicolas Maduro based his decisions on the victory obtained in a referendum organized on Sunday, around the issue of Venezuela’s sovereignty over the Esequibo region.
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