Caribbean

U.S. Dept. of Defense Officials To Visit Guyana This Week Ahead of Planned Venezuelan Referendum on Disputed Territory

While the attention of many around the world may be on conflicts in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, an increasingly tense land dispute on the South American continent is prompting action from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).  DOD officials are scheduled to arrive in Guyana this week, as the country explores its options in the face of Venezuela’s intensifying efforts to claim ownership of a vast swathe of mineral-rich land east of the Essequibo River.  Two teams from the Defense Department will be in Guyana in the coming days, ahead of Venezuela’s planned national referendum on December 3, which will, among other things, ask Venezuelan voters if a new state should be created in the Essequibo territory, with Venezuelan citizenship granted to current residents of the region.  Guyana’s government sees the 5-question referendum as an existential threat to the country’s territorial integrity, and has petitioned the International Court of Justice (World Court) to order the exercis...