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#REDIRECT [[Guyana–Venezuela territorial dispute]]
{{short description|Disputed territory in South America}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Redirect category shell|
{{Infobox settlement
{{R from move}}
| name = Guayana Esequiba
| settlement_type = [[Territorial dispute|Disputed territory]]
| image_map = File:Guyana Venezuela Locator.png
| map_alt =
| map_caption = Guayana Esequiba is in light green, with the rest of [[Guyana]] in dark green. [[Venezuela]] is shown in orange.
| subdivision_type1 = Claimant country
| subdivision_name1 = {{Flag|Venezuela}}
| subdivision_type = Administrating country
| subdivision_name = {{Flag|Guyana}}
| subdivision_type3 = [[States of Venezuela|Venezuelan division]]
| subdivision_name3 = As part of two states: [[Bolívar (state)|Bolívar]] and [[Delta Amacuro]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[Regions of Guyana|Guyanese division]]
| subdivision_name2 = As part of six regions{{efn|group=note|[[Barima-Waini]], [[Pomeroon-Supenaam]], [[Essequibo Islands-West Demerara]], [[Cuyuni-Mazaruni]], [[Potaro-Siparuni]] and [[Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo]]}}
| area_total_km2 = 159,500
| time_zone = [[Atlantic Standard Time|AST]]
| utc_offset = – 04:00
| population_as_of = 2012
| population_footnotes = <ref name="CNN-es">{{cite news |title=Historia y disputas entre el Reino Unido, Guyana y Venezuela por el Esequibo |url=https://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2023/12/02/historia-disputas-esequibo-reino-unido-guyana-venezuela-orix/ |access-date=5 December 2023 |agency=[[CNN en Español]] |date=2 December 2023 |archive-date=5 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231205042502/https://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2023/12/02/historia-disputas-esequibo-reino-unido-guyana-venezuela-orix/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
| population_total = approx. 128,000
| population_density_km2 = 0.8
}}
}}
{{Guayana Esequiba sidebar}}
'''Guayana Esequiba''' ({{IPA-es|ɡwaˈʝana eseˈkiβa|-|ES-pe - Guayana Esequiba.ogg}}), also called '''Esequibo''' or '''Essequibo''', is a disputed territory of {{convert|159500|km2|abbr=on}} west of the [[Essequibo River]]. The territory is controlled by [[Guyana]] based on the [[Paris Arbitral Award|1899 Paris Arbitral Award]] but is also claimed by [[Venezuela]].<ref name="case">[https://books.google.com/books?id=sNkMAAAAYAAJ ''British Guiana Boundary: Arbitration with the United States of Venezuela. The Case (and Appendix) on Behalf of the Government of Her Britannic Majesty''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408075005/https://books.google.com/books?id=sNkMAAAAYAAJ |date=8 April 2023 }} Volume 7. Printed at the Foreign office, by Harrison and sons, 1898.</ref>{{Page number needed|date=December 2023}}<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-01-20|title=Caribbean Nations Have High Hopes For the Biden-Harris Administration|url=https://sflcn.com/caribbean-nations-have-high-hopes-for-the-biden-harris-administration/|access-date=2021-01-20|website=South Florida Caribbean News|language=en-US|archive-date=17 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210617193150/https://sflcn.com/caribbean-nations-have-high-hopes-for-the-biden-harris-administration/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Boadle |first=Anthony |last2=Gaier |first2=Rodrigo Viga |last3=Boadle |first3=Anthony |date=2023-12-06 |title=Brazil urging Venezuela to avoid force or threats against Guyana, says Lula aide |language=en |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazil-sees-no-risk-armed-conflict-between-guyana-venezuela-minister-2023-12-06/ |access-date=2023-12-07 |archive-date=9 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209190114/https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazil-sees-no-risk-armed-conflict-between-guyana-venezuela-minister-2023-12-06/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The boundary dispute was inherited from the colonial powers ([[Spanish Venezuela|Spain]] in the case of Venezuela, and [[Dutch Guayana|the Netherlands]] and [[British Guayana|the United Kingdom]] in the case of Guyana) and has persisted following the independence of Venezuela and Guyana.

The status of the territory is subject to the Geneva Agreement, which was signed by the United Kingdom, Venezuela, and British Guiana on 17 February 1966. This treaty stipulates that the parties will agree to find a practical, peaceful, and satisfactory solution to the dispute.<ref name="Geneva">[http://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%20561/volume-561-I-8192-English.pdf Agreement to resolve the controversy over the frontier between Venezuela and British Guiana (Treaty of Geneva, 1966)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116234853/http://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%20561/volume-561-I-8192-English.pdf |date=16 January 2013 }} from UN</ref> Should there be a stalemate, according to the treaty, the decision as to the means of settlement is to be referred to an "appropriate international organ" or, failing agreement on this point, to the [[Secretary-General of the United Nations]].<ref name="Geneva" />

Currently, [[Venezuela]] claims all of the land west of the [[Essequibo River|Essequibo river]], which it refers to as ''Zona en Reclamación'' or Zone in Reclamation.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-24 |title=Venezuela-Guyana: qué riquezas hay en el Esequibo, el territorio que se disputan ambos países desde hace casi dos siglos |url=https://www.bbc.com/mundo/articles/cpwp4lyp902o |access-date=2023-12-08 |website=BBC News Mundo |language=es |archive-date=6 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231206100001/https://www.bbc.com/mundo/articles/cpwp4lyp902o |url-status=live }}</ref> Historically, this did not include the [[Amazon river|tributaries of the Amazon river]] and the [[History_of_Roraima#The_question_of_Pirara|Pirara area]] which were only ceded to [[British Guiana]] in 1904 during arbitration with [[Brazil]]. The Northwestern border of Guayana Esequiba follows the 1905 border as established by the British-Venezuelan Mixed Boundary Commission, in accordance with the ''Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899''. Venezuela currently seeks to abrogate the legal borders and currently agrees only to the Essequibo River boundary.

== Demographics ==
At the time of the 2023 Venezuelan referendum which included a question about granting citizenship to those living in the disputed region, the estimated population in Essequibo was around 125,000 inhabitants.<ref>{{cite news |title=Historia y disputas entre el Reino Unido, Guyana y Venezuela por el Esequibo |url=https://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2023/12/02/historia-disputas-esequibo-reino-unido-guyana-venezuela-orix/ |access-date=5 December 2023 |agency=[[CNN en Español]] |date=2 December 2023 |archive-date=5 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231205042502/https://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2023/12/02/historia-disputas-esequibo-reino-unido-guyana-venezuela-orix/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Political division ==
The territory is divided by Guyana into six administrative regions: [[Barima-Waini]], [[Cuyuni-Mazaruni]], [[Pomeroon-Supenaam]], [[Potaro-Siparuni]], [[Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo]] and [[Essequibo Islands-West Demerara]]. Venezuela often depicts it on the map as a striped region. Venezuela seeks to incorporate [[Guayana Esequiba]] as a 24th state into the [[Guayana Region, Venezuela|Guayana Region]].{{cn|date=December 2023}}

== Territorial organization ==
[[File:Guyana, administrative divisions - de - colored.svg|thumb|<small>Map of Guyana showing regions 1 ([[Barima-Waini]]), 2 ([[Cuyuni-Mazaruni]]), 7 ([[Pomeroon-Supenaam]]), 8 ([[Potaro-Siparuni]]), 10 ([[Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo]]) and the western part of 5 ([[Essequibo Islands-West Demerara]]) under claim.</small>]]
=== In Guyana ===
According to the administrative division of Guyana, Equatorial Guiana would comprise the entire [[Barima-Waini]], [[Pomeroon-Supenaam]] and [[Cuyuni-Mazaruni]] regions; most of the [[Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo]] and [[Potaro-Siparuni]] regions; and the western part of the Essequibo Islands-West Demerara region (the latter three have sectors on both sides of the main channel of the Essequibo River). Each region is administered by a Regional Democratic Council (RDC), which is headed by a Chief or Chairman.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto;"
|+ Regions of Guyana claimed in whole or in part by Venezuela as part of Essequiba Guyana

|-----
! colspan="1" align="center" bgcolor="lightblue" colspan="1" |Number
! colspan="1" align="center" bgcolor="lightblue" colspan="1" |Regiona's name
! colspan="1" align="center" bgcolor="lightblue" colspan="1" |Surface (km²)
! colspan="1" align="center" bgcolor="lightblue" colspan="1" |Population (2012)
|-----
! style="background:#efefef;"|Region 1 ||[[Barima-Waini]]
|align=right|20&nbsp;339 ||align=right|26&nbsp;941
|-----
! style="background:#efefef;" |Region 2 ||[[Pomeroon-Supenaam]]
|align=right|6195 ||align=right|46&nbsp;810
|-----
! style="background:#efefef;" | Region 3 ||[[Essequibo Islands-West Demerara]]
|align=right|3755 ||align=right|107&nbsp;416
|-----
! style="background:#efefef;" |Region 7 ||[[Cuyuni-Mazaruni]]
|align=right|47&nbsp;213 ||align=right|20&nbsp;280
|-----
! style="background:#efefef;" |Region 8 ||[[Potaro-Siparuni]]
|align=right|20&nbsp;051 ||align=right|10&nbsp;190
|-----
! style="background:#efefef;" | Region 9 ||[[Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo]]
|align=right|57&nbsp;750 ||align=right|24&nbsp;212
|}
{{center|<small>*(The data for regions 3, 8 and 9 include the sectors located east of the main channel of the Essequibo River, which are not claimed by Venezuela.)</small>}}

=== In Venezuela ===
[[File:2023 New Map of Venezuela.jpg|thumb|300px|Among his decrees shortly after the referendum, Venezuelan president [[Nicolás Maduro]] ordered the publication of a new map, including the Esequibo territory, "in all schools, public entities, universities and 'in all homes' in the country"<ref>{{cite news |title=Así quedaría el "nuevo" mapa de Venezuela con el Esequibo, según Maduro |url=https://www.elheraldo.co/mundo/asi-quedaria-el-nuevo-mapa-de-venezuela-con-el-esequibo-segun-nicolas-maduro-1053355 |access-date=7 December 2023 |agency=El Heraldo |date=5 December 2023 |language=es |archive-date=11 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211224826/https://www.elheraldo.co/mundo/asi-quedaria-el-nuevo-mapa-de-venezuela-con-el-esequibo-segun-nicolas-maduro-1053355 |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
According to some interpretations of Venezuelan legislation, Essequiba Guyana is an integral part of the jurisdiction of the states of [[Bolívar (state)|Bolívar]] and [[Delta Amacuro]], whose common boundary runs along the cusp of the [[Imataka Mountains|Imataka mountain range]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150405120747/http://venciclopedia.com/index.php?title=Constituci%C3%B3n_del_Estado_Bol%C3%ADvar#T.C3.8DTULO_II._DEL_TERRITORIO_DEL_ESTADO.2C_DE_SU_ESPACIO_GEOGR.C3.81FICO_Y_SU_DIVISI.C3.93N_POL.C3.8DTICA Artículos 15 y 16 de la Constitución del Estado Bolívar.]</ref><ref>{{cite web|access-date=23 December 2012|archive-date=23 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923213441/http://www.deltamacuro.gob.ve/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=5|title=Territorio original de Delta Amacuro desde 1884.|url=http://www.deltamacuro.gob.ve/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=5}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>

The state of Bolívar, in its constitution, establishes the following:

{{Cita|'''Article 15º''' The territory and other geographical spaces of the State of Bolivar are those that historically corresponded to the [[Guayana Province]] of the [[Captaincy General of Venezuela]], before the political transformation initiated on 19 April 1810, then delimited in accordance with the Political Territorial Law of the Republic of 28 April 1856, with the modifications that have resulted from the laws of the Republic, the agreements and other legal acts validly celebrated in accordance with the [[Constitution of Venezuela|Constitution]], the national laws and the laws of the State.
In all acts of the State, in which its territory is described or referred to, the reservation that the [[Paris Arbitral Award|Arbitral Award of Paris of 1899]] is void and null, according to the principles of law and justice that govern the international community and contribute to affirm territorial integrity, shall be understood to be incorporated, even if not expressly so, in all acts of the State. The State of Bolivar will collaborate and support the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in the achievement of a satisfactory solution for the practical settlement of the territorial dispute, based on the [[Geneva Agreement (1966)|Geneva Agreement]] of 17 February 1966.}}

The original territory of what is now the state of Delta Amacuro extends from the Orinoco delta to the Esequibo River. The information website of the governor's office of this state states the following about its territoriality:

{{Cita|When the Federal Territory of Delta Amacuro was created, it had an area of 63,667 km², and currently has 40,200 km². The difference between these two areas was lost by the Delta Amacuro due to the [[Paris Arbitral Award]] signed on 3 October 1899, by which 23,467 km² of its territory was taken away by English Guyana.}}

Historically in Venezuela, the central power (government and other Venezuelan state agencies) has been directly in charge of the treatment of the case of Guayana Esequiba, leaving the local governors' and mayors' offices with very little participation and power of action. A special and differentiated treatment is given to the jurisdictions of these national states, which do not usually include in their maps their territorial portion within the Guayana Esequiba, although in the national maps of the country the inclusion of the area under claim is mandatory. This has led some people to erroneously think that the Guayana Esequiba is a new Venezuelan state or federal territory.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=31 December 2012|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402121939/http://www.primicia.com.ve/index.php/politica/item/23610-mas-pide-intervenci%C3%B3n-del-gobierno-en-caso-del-esequivo|title=MAS pide intervención del Gobierno en caso del Esequivo|url=http://www.primicia.com.ve/index.php/politica/item/23610-mas-pide-intervenci%C3%B3n-del-gobierno-en-caso-del-esequivo}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>

In 1999, when the new Venezuelan magna carta was enacted, Article 10 of the Constitution of the Venezuela established the following as Venezuelan territory:<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20131212035724/http://www.tsj.gov.ve/legislacion/constitucion1999.htm</ref>

{{cita|1= The territory and other geographic spaces of the Republic are those that corresponded to the Captaincy General of Venezuela before the political transformation initiated on 19 April 1810, with the modifications resulting from treaties and arbitration awards not vitiated by nullity.}}

In August 2015, some deputies of the [[National Assembly (Venezuela)|Venezuelan National Assembly]] proposed the creation of a 25th state (''Estado Esequibo'') uniting the territory of Guayana Esequiba (159,500 square kilometers) and the [[Sifontes Municipality]] (24,393 square kilometers), with capital in [[Tumeremo]], the latter territory currently under the jurisdiction of the state of Bolivar. The proposal was officially introduced before the secretariat of the National Assembly, but was not approved.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.larazon.net/2015/08/13/proponen-que-el-esequibo-sea-el-estado-25/ |title=Proponen que el Esequibo sea el estado 24 |access-date=16 March 2016 |last=Díaz |first=Carlos}}</ref>

== Territorial dispute ==
{{main|Guyana–Venezuela territorial dispute}}
In 1840, the British government commissioned German-born explorer and [[Natural history|naturalist]] [[Robert Hermann Schomburgk]] to survey [[British Guiana]]'s boundaries. This survey resulted in what came to be known as the "[[Schomburgk Line]]", which went well beyond the area of British occupation and gave British Guiana control of the mouth of the [[Orinoco]] River. These borders were disputed by Venezuela, and tensions worsened after the discovery of gold mines in the region in 1876, culminating with Venezuela severing diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom in 1887. The United Kingdom and Venezuela went into arbitration with mediation from the United States, which resulted in the Paris Arbitral Award in 1899 and ruled largely in favour of Britain. In 1949, [[Mallet-Prevost memorandum|a memorandum written by Severo Mallet-Prevost]], official secretary of the US–Venezuela delegation in the arbitration, and published posthumously stated that the Arbitral Award resulted from the pressure by the Tribunal President [[Friedrich Martens]] and a political deal between Russia and Britain. Said memorandum led to complaints by Venezuela in the United Nations in 1962, which resulted in the [[Geneva Agreement (1966)|Geneva Agreement]], signed with the [[United Kingdom]] in 1966.

The Secretary-General referred the entire matter to the [[International Court of Justice]] (ICJ). On 18 December 2020, the ICJ accepted the case submitted by Guyana to settle the dispute.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.icj-cij.org/public/files/case-related/171/171-20201218-SUM-01-00-EN.pdf |title=Summary of the Judgement of 18 December 2020 |access-date=27 December 2022 |archive-date=28 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528063959/https://www.icj-cij.org/public/files/case-related/171/171-20201218-SUM-01-00-EN.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> In December 2023, Venezuela held a [[2023 Venezuelan referendum|referendum]] asking the Venezuelan electorate whether the region should become a state of Venezuela and its population become citizens, where it declared that the results showed overwhelming support for such action.<ref>{{Cite news |date=9 December 2023 |title=Maduro firma decretos para anexar a Venezuela el territorio en disputa con Guyana |newspaper=[[El Sureño]] |url=https://www.surenio.com.ar/maduro-firma-decretos-para-anexar-a-venezuela-el-territorio-en-disputa-con-guyana/ |url-status=live |access-date=9 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209191134/https://www.surenio.com.ar/maduro-firma-decretos-para-anexar-a-venezuela-el-territorio-en-disputa-con-guyana/ |archive-date=9 December 2023 |lang=es}}</ref> No vote was held in the disputed region.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-29 |title=Venezuela's planned vote over territory dispute leaves Guyana residents on edge |url=https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-guyana-essequibo-territory-dispute-maduro-referendum-d3e65757ca8da2355994ec8a44c148ba |access-date=2023-12-06 |website=AP News |language=en |archive-date=6 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231206072513/https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-guyana-essequibo-territory-dispute-maduro-referendum-d3e65757ca8da2355994ec8a44c148ba |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Borders of Venezuela]]
* [[Essequibo (colony)]]
* [[Guyana–Venezuela relations]]
* [[Tigri Area]], another territorial dispute involving Suriname

==Notes==
{{notelist}}
{{Reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=50em}}
{{Reflist|group=note}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Guayana Esequiba}}

{{Administrative divisions of Venezuela}}
{{coord|6.3|-59.7|dim:500km_region:GY|display=title}}

[[Category:Guayana Esequiba| ]]
[[Category:Geography of Guyana]]
[[Category:Geography of Venezuela]]
[[Category:Guyana–Venezuela border|Dispute]]
[[Category:Colonial Venezuela]]

Revision as of 02:21, 7 January 2024

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