Venezuela to Defend Territorial Claim Over Essequibo Region at International Court

Acting leadership from Venezuela arrived in the Netherlands on Sunday ahead of a hearing at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The country will defend its claim to the Essequibo region, a territory of nearly 62,000 square miles in western Guyana that is rich in gold, diamonds, timber and other natural resources and lies near large offshore oil deposits.

The dispute between the two South American nations dates back decades. Venezuela has maintained that the region belonged to it since the Spanish colonial period. An 1899 arbitration decision involving Britain, Russia and the United States set the border along the Essequibo River in what became Guyana's favor.

Venezuela argues that a 1966 agreement reached in Geneva to settle the matter nullified the earlier arbitration ruling. Guyana brought the case to the International Court of Justice in 2018 seeking confirmation that the 1899 decision remains the valid border and that the 1966 agreement does not supersede it.

The final hearing is scheduled for Monday.

Acting leadership from Venezuela stated after arriving at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport that the country has demonstrated at every historical stage what the territory has meant since it became a republic. Venezuela has said its participation in the hearings does not constitute consent to or recognition of the court's jurisdiction.

At the opening session, Guyana's foreign minister told the judges that the dispute has affected the country since its founding as a sovereign state and that 70 percent of its territory is at stake. The court is expected to take months before issuing a final and legally binding ruling.

The International Court of Justice has been conducting a series of hearings with both countries over the territorial claim.