Admiral Neil Villamizar. Photo: X/ @primicias24.
President Maduro offered “full budgetary support” to protect the rights of the Essequibo people.
On Sunday, Carlos Quintero, vice president of Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE), announced that Admiral Neil Villamizar, the candidate of the SimĂłn BolĂvar Great Patriotic Pole, became the first governor of the Guayana Esequiba state after securing 97% of the vote.
Admiral Neil Villamizar is a senior officer in the Venezuelan Navy with a distinguished military career. He graduated from the Venezuelan Naval Academy in 1991 and has held several key positions, including commander of the Navy’s Submarine Squadron and the AB Sabalo S-31 submarine.
Between 2019 and 2021, he led the Navy’s fleet and later commanded the Maritime and Insular Strategic Defense Region, overseeing his country’s maritime and island territories. In July 2023, Villamizar was appointed commander general of the Navy, underscoring his prominent role in the country’s naval operations.
In 2025, the SimĂłn BolĂvar Great Patriotic Pole alliance nominated Admiral Villamizar as candidate for the governorship of Guayana Esequiba, a 160,000-square-kilometer resource-rich territory that has been the subject of a longstanding dispute between Venezuela and Guyana.
#Venezuela | #Chavismo achieve historic victory in Legislative and Regional Elections #2025 winning the governorship of 23 states pic.twitter.com/jIDGiHveNh
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) May 26, 2025
During a consultative referendum held Dec. 3, 2023, over 10.5 million citizens voted in favor of asserting Venezuela’s sovereignty over the Essequibo region, which the Bolivarian nation considers part of the country’s historic territorial heritage under the 1966 Geneva Agreement.
Villamizar officially registered his candidacy in April 2025, expressing his commitment to integrating the region into Venezuela and promoting its development. He has actively engaged with local communities, including Indigenous peoples, to address their needs and reinforce Venezuela’s claim to the territory.
President Maduro: We Will Completely Recover Guayana Esequiba on May 25
Celebrating the victory on Sunday, President Nicolas Maduro pledged “full budgetary support” to the newly elected governor so that “the people of the Essequibo have all the rights of the Venezuelan people.”
Approximately 21,500 residents of the Essequibo turned out at 12 voting centers set in the towns of El Dorado, Las Claritas, and San Martin de Turumbang. Maduro highlighted their participation, stating that the electoral victory marks the sovereignty of Venezuela over the Guayana Esequiba.
Venezuela | Following the election that took place this Sunday, May 25 in Venezuela, the Venezuelan National Assembly will be composed of 82% of the Gran Polo Patriotico Simon Bolivar and 18% of the opposition. pic.twitter.com/SPxw6TjRy8
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) May 26, 2025
On the same day, voters in Guayana Esequiba also elected seven representatives to the Legislative Council and eight lawmakers to the National Assembly. Voting in the region proceeded peacefully, despite threats and pressure from the Guyanese government.
“The elections in Guayana Esequiba are in response to a constitutional mandate established through the 2023 consultative referendum,” said Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, who emphasized that the May 25 vote was a sovereign process that poses no threat to Guyana.
“We are not pointing rifles or attacking Guyana. We are calling for a popular vote so the people can express themselves and fulfill the constitutional mandate,” he added, calling Guyana’s threats against election participants irrational.
“No one can tell us not to hold elections. Our process is a sovereign act. There is no reason to place defense forces on alert simply because we are exercising the vote in the Guayana Esequiba region,” Padrino Lopez said.
