A map showing the location of the Essequibo region, disputed between Venezuela and Guyana. File photo.
An airstrip that will serve as support for the logistic development of the Essequibo territory is under construction. This was announced through a video by Venezuela’s strategic operational commander of the FANB, Domingo Hernández Lárez.
Members of the Bolivarian National Armed Force (FANB) are building an airstrip in an area of BolĂvar state bordering the Essequibo territory. The Essequibo territory comprises almost 160,000 square kilometers and is disputed with Guyana, informed Hernández Lárez this Saturday, October 28.
Using the slogan “the Essequibo is Venezuelan land,” Hernández Lárez published on his X account a video in which the work being carried out by the military in a wooded area, named La Camorra Integral Development Area, can be observed.
Venezuela Criticizes CARICOM’s Position on Essequibo Referendum
In the video, a military officer, identified as Colonel Juan GutiĂ©rrez Ortiz, can be heard explaining that they are in La Camorra for “the construction of the airstrip that will serve as a logistical support point for the integral development of the Essequibo.”
The military official did not offer more details about this runway, the use it will have, or the date on which the work is expected to be completed.
El Esequibo es tuyo, es mĂo, es nuestro !
El Esequibo es tierra venezolana ! #FANB #IntegrarEsVencer pic.twitter.com/3641Py5xaF— GJ. Domingo Hernández Lárez (@dhernandezlarez) October 28, 2023
CNE announced referendum on the Essequibo
Last Monday, Venezuela’s electoral body announced the five questions to be answered by citizens in a consultative referendum promoted by the National Assembly on the territorial dispute with Guyana over the Essequibo territory.
In the consultation, scheduled for December 3, Venezuela will ask citizens about the possibility of creating a state to annex the Essequibo territory.
Venezuela Announces Questions for Consultative Referendum on Essequibo Territory
In addition, Venezuelans will be consulted regarding whether they agree or not with “the line fraudulently imposed by the Paris Arbitral Award of 1899,” on which Guyana bases its claim to Essequibo. As such, the consultation will seek to legitimize the defense of the 1966 Geneva Agreement, which is the mechanism validated by Venezuela and Guyana to solve the dispute.
The Geneva Agreement stipulates that the parties must resolve the territorial dispute in a mutually satisfactory, practical, and amicable manner.
(RedRadioVE) by Victoria Torres
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/ECS/JRE/SL
