{"id":191886,"date":"2023-12-09T16:54:32","date_gmt":"2023-12-09T20:54:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=191886"},"modified":"2023-12-09T16:54:32","modified_gmt":"2023-12-09T20:54:32","slug":"tensions-are-soaring-between-guyana-and-venezuela-over-a-territorial-dispute-heres-what-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/tensions-are-soaring-between-guyana-and-venezuela-over-a-territorial-dispute-heres-what-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Tensions are soaring between Guyana and Venezuela over a territorial dispute. Here\u2019s what to know"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(AP) \u2014 A century-old territorial dispute deepened by the discovery of oil is boiling over between neighbors Guyana and Venezuela. Steeped in patriotism, the Venezuelan government is seizing on the fight to boost support ahead of a presidential election among a population fed up with a decade-long
\ncrisis that has pushed many into poverty.<\/p>

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Venezuelans on Sunday approved a referendum to claim sovereignty over Essequibo, a mineral-rich territory that accounts for two-thirds of Guyana and lies near big offshore oil deposits.<\/p>\n

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Military confrontation appears unlikely for now, but several countries have echoed Guyana\u2019s concerns over an annexation by its neighbor to the west.<\/p>

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These are some of the key aspects of the growing dispute:<\/p>

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WHY IS THE BORDER UNDER DISPUTE?<\/h2>\n

Venezuela says it was the victim of a land theft conspiracy in 1899, when Guyana was a British colony and arbitrators from Britain, Russia and the United States decided the boundary. The U.S. represented Venezuela in part because the Venezuelan government had broken off diplomatic relations with Britain.<\/p>\n

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Let us know what you think by adding a comment below. Click here to start now!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Venezuelan officials contends Americans and Europeans colluded to cheat their country out of the land. They also argue that an agreement among Venezuela, Britain and the colony of British Guiana signed in 1966 to resolve the dispute effectively nullified the original<\/p>

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Guyana maintains the initial accord is legal and binding and asked the United Nations\u2019 top court in 2018 to rule it as such, but a decision is years away.<\/p>\n

WHAT IS OIL\u2019S ROLE?<\/h2>\n

In 2015, major oil deposits were first discovered off Essequibo\u2019s shore by an ExxonMobil-led consortium, piquing the interest of Venezuela, whose commitment to pursuing the territorial claim has
\nfluctuated over the years.<\/p>

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