Venezuelans have voted in big numbers to say they want a piece of land with a lot of oil that Guyana has been in charge of for a long time.
Officials say that over 95% of people agreed to create a new state in Essequibo.
Caracas says the area has belonged to Venezuela since it became independent from Spain 200 years ago, but Guyana says it was given to British Guiana in the late 19th Century.
The argument started again in 2015 because a big oil find was made in the ocean.
President Nicolás Maduro said the referendum went really well and that most people in Venezuela voted “Yes”.
Essequibo is a big area in Guyana, it is 159,500 sq km and has around a sixth of the country’s population.
The two neighbors have been arguing for a long time about the status of the region.
In 1899, an international court gave the land to Britain, which was ruling Guyana at the time. The governments of Venezuela have said that they think the decision was not fair.
In 1966, Guyana became independent. Britain and Venezuela agreed to create a group to talk about the dispute over the land. But after sixty years, they still haven’t found a solution.
The vote is happening because in 2015, ExxonMobil found oil in the waters near Essequibo.
In 2018, Guyana filed a case at the International Court of Justice to decide if a decision made in 1899 about the territory is still valid. Guyana wants to show that the territory belongs to them. The ICJ has not made a decision yet.
Venezuela doesn’t agree that the ICJ can make decisions about this problem, but they have been going to the court’s meetings.
In September this year, tensions went up when Guyana had an auction. Oil companies bid to explore for oil in Essequibo waters.
The referendum asked people if they agreed with Venezuela’s claim over Essequibo and if they supported the government’s decision to not accept the ICJ’s authority.
They were also asked if they agreed to “strongly fight against in a legal way” Guyana’s use of the waters near the land and if they supported Essequibo being part of Venezuela’s map.
The president of the country’s election authority said that more than 95% of voters agreed with all the questions.
Guyana is upset about the vote and thinks it is trying to take over their land. The ICJ told Venezuela not to do anything that would change the way things are in the Essequibo.
Critics have also criticized the poll as an effort by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to stir up strong feelings of patriotism before the 2024 election.
We don’t know yet what the Venezuelan government will do after the referendum, but if they try to take the land by force, other countries will strongly oppose it.
One important thing is that the US put sanctions on Venezuela’s oil exports again, after starting to lessen them in October.
Tag: Venezuelans
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Essequibo: Venezuelans vote to seize oil sector controlled by Guyana
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US provides legal status to almost 500,000 Venezuelans
Venezuelans who have come to the US and are asking for protection can now work legally, as per the new rules declared by the Biden government.
About 472,000 people will be allowed to stay in the country legally for 18 months.
Democrats want to give new immigrants more chances to work.
Many people from Venezuela are leaving their country because of economic and political problems. US cities are trying to deal with the large number of people coming from Venezuela.
To be eligible for temporary deportation relief and work permits under TPS, individuals need to have been living in the US on or before July 31st.
About 243,000 Venezuelans have a legal status that came from a policy in 2021 which was extended last year.
The US government wants to help Venezuelans because their country is not safe and things have gotten worse recently.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said that temporary protected status helps people in the United States who cannot go back to their home country because it is not safe.
This is referring to the current situation of Venezuelans who came to this place on or before July 31st of this year.
New York Mayor Eric Adams asked President Joe Biden to let migrants have jobs.
The city is having a hard time finding places for many migrants, who are mostly from Venezuela. They are staying in over 200 hotels, shelters, tent cities, and other places.
Mr Adams, who is a member of the Democratic party, said that the federal and state government did not give enough help to the city for providing housing and other social services to new people coming to the city.
“Our city’s leaders, along with our partners, have been advocating for allowing Venezuelan asylum seekers to work. I want to express my gratitude to President Biden for listening to our entire group, which also includes our diligent congressional delegation. This action is significant as it will give hope to the thousands of Venezuelan asylum seekers under our care, who will now be able to qualify for Temporary Protected Status without delay,” he said on Wednesday.
The amount of people crossing the US-Mexico border without permission has increased again lately, after decreasing in May due to the stricter asylum rules introduced by the Biden administration.
Republican states are bringing migrants to places controlled by Democrats as a way to show their disagreement with border policies.
They stated that the action was created to push President Biden to do more to decrease the amount of people entering the southern US border.
According to the United Nations, over seven million people have moved away from Venezuela because the country’s economy has fallen apart under President Nicolas Maduro, who has been in charge since 2013.