Guayana Esequiba

Venezuela claims regions 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, & 10, or 62% of Guyana.

Guayana Esequiba is the name Venezuela gives to a region that it claims in the west of Guyana. Its area is 159,500 square kilometers. For Guyana, this area is divided into the six administrative regions of Barima-Waini, Cuyuni-Mazaruni, Pomeroon-Supenaam, Potaro-Siparuni, Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo and Essequibo Islands-West Demerara.

Map showing:
* The extreme border claimed by Britain
*The current boundary(roughly) and
* The extreme border claimed by Venezuela

The dispute over this territory is guided by the Geneva Agreement, which was signed by the United Kingdom, Venezuela, and British Guiana in the year of 1966. According to this treaty, all parties are to find a practical, peaceful and satisfactory solution to the dispute. If no progress is made, the matter is to be sent to an "appropriate international organ" or, if this cannot be agreed upon either, to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Secretary-General took the dispute to the International Court of Justice. On 18 December 2020, the ICJ accepted the case .

History

The Essequibo river was discovered by Spanish explorers and the region was colonized by the Dutch who made settlements and plantations in the area. For hundreds of years, disputes over the land occurred but no official boundary was agreed upon between the Spanish and Dutch. A significant portion of the Dutch land was later given to the British in 1814.

Historically, Venezuela claimed a majority of the land west of the Essequibo river. Britain and Venezuela argued over the boundary between British Guiana and Venezuela for much of the 19th century. In 1895, after Britain expanded further west, Venezuela sought help from the United States of America to resolve the border dispute. Britain was pressured by the United States of America to negotiate with Venezuela and both presented their case to an arbitration committee in Paris. Britain and Venezuela accepted the decision of the Tribunal in 1899 and finalized their border in 1905.

Venezuela reluctantly agreed to the border but, internally within the country, there was disappointment with the result. Venezuela raised the issue again in 1962, four years before Guyana won independence from Britain. At a meeting in Geneva in 1966, the two countries agreed to hear ideas from a representative of the UN Secretary General on ways to settle the dispute peacefully. There are still diplomatic contacts between the two countries and the Secretary General's representative.

Venezuelan maps drawn since 1970 show all the area from the eastern bank of the Essequibo, including the islands in the river, as Venezuelan territory. On some maps, the western Essequibo region is called the "Zone of Reclamation".

Guayana Esequiba Media

• 

  Essequibo region claimed by Venezuela.

• 

  Territorial claims by British Guiana, including western boundary ceded to Venezuela.

• 

  Guayana Esequiba in light green with the rest of Guyana in dark green; Venezuela shown in orange

• 

  A 1625 map by Hessel Gerritsz, showing Dutch territory (in yellow) ranging from the Orinoco River to the Amazon River

• 

  Ruins of Fort Kyk-Over-Al, constructed by the Dutch in 1616

• 

  Venezuela and British Guayana (Guyana) in 1775, according to Spanish cartography.

• 

  A 1775 map of the Americas by Rigobert Bonne.

• 

  Map of Dutch colonies of Essequibo and Demerara in 1798.

• 

  An 1855 map of Venezuela including British Guayana, the entire Essequibo region, and New Granada.