Six Historical Moments to Understand the Essequibo Territory Dispute

The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, presented a lecture on the historical evolution of the controversy over the Essequibo territory as a part of the “Act of National Union in Defense of Essequibo Guyana” event held in the Teresa Carreño Theater in Caracas, with numerous attendees from across the political world of Venezuela.

This presentation was held with the support of the historian and Venezuelan ambassador to the UN, Samuel Moncada; the constitutional lawyer and deputy Hermann Escarrá; General Pompeyo Torrealba, and other experts on the subject. To facilitate its understanding, they divided the history of the Essequibo dispute into six stages.

These six stages are part of a pedagogical initiative aimed at promoting debate “to indicate the directions for the recovery of our rights,” said the head of state during the event held this Tuesday, November 7. In defining such historical moments, the Venezuelan people will be greater equipped to decide clearly what their vote will be in the consultative referendum regarding the Essequibo territory scheduled for Sunday, December 3.

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These are the six moments that define the historical development of the territorial controversy between the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the Cooperative Republic of Guyana:

Formation of the territory (from the colonial period to the period of independence): this stage began in 1492 with the arrival of European settler colonialism to the American lands, extending until 1840, after the territory of what is now called Venezuela was formed.
Period of aggression, dispossession, and arbitration fraud: this stage began in 1840, when the British Empire—through illegal tricks and schemes—took the first steps to enter the territory of Venezuela. It culminates in 1899, the year in which the fraud of the Paris Arbitration Award was consummated.
Imperial gunboat diplomacy, condemnation of fraud, and the Geneva Agreement: this period occurred between 1900 and 1966, the period in which Venezuela went from a time of division, threats of blockades, and military invasions, to a reaction, characterized by condemnation of these acts and working with international organizations in the diplomatic field to achieve the signing of documents that led to the drafting, acceptance, and ratification of the Geneva Agreement of February 17, 1966.
The Geneva Agreement, emergence of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, and reservation presented by Venezuela on the recognition of the State that emerged from British Guyana: this stage, which focuses on the period between 1966 and 2015, involves the practical application of the Geneva Agreement of 1966 between Venezuela and Guyana, the alternative options stipulated in the document and the Charter of the United Nations, and the search for a peaceful and satisfactory solution for both parties.
Guyana taking a belligerent position: this stage covers the period between 2015 and 2023, in particular the events that led to Venezuela’s calling for a consultative referendum in defense of Essequibo Guayana. The referendum describes the continued violation of international law by the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, as well as its pacts with ExxonMobil and the United States Southern Command that make them turn their backs on the resolutions of the Geneva Agreement.
After the consultative referendum: this stage will occur after the referendum of December 3, to ratify the defense and sovereignty of Essequibo.