copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: Essequibo River is a territory of Venezuela (Essequibo River, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-01-08): Territorial Dispute between Guyana and Venezuela: Navigating the Essequibo [...] The Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela dispute sovereignty over a territory of approximately one hundred and fifty-nine thousand (159,000) square kilometers west of the Essequibo River, along the border between the two countries. The parties to the dispute, however, have changed since the nineteenth century, as the Spanish, Dutch, and British colonial footprint gradually faded with the emergence of the South American Republics. The dispute has led to the execution of international treaties, international arbitration proceedings and a Good Offices process under the auspices of the United Nations (UN) Secretary General. The discovery of significant offshore oil reserves has further inflamed tensions and with Guyana filing an Application against Venezuela before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the parties now find themselves at a critical juncture of this long-standing dispute. [...] Quintero Vollmer, F.A. (2021). Territorial Dispute between Guyana and Venezuela: Navigating the Essequibo.
Claim: Essequibo River is a territory of Venezuela (Essequibo River, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-12-06): Last week, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordered the state’s oil companies to issue extraction licenses in oil-rich Essequibo—increasing tensions between the two countries and reigniting a longstanding territory dispute.This news comes after more than 95% of Venezuelan voters approved a referendum claiming ownership over land—which makes up more than two-thirds of Guyana—with plans to create a new state in the region, though some reports say that voters largely shunned the vote. On Tuesday, Maduro, who is trying to rename the territory Guayana Esequiba, debuted a new map of Venezuela that included the disputed region. [...] Venezuela has long sought to control Essequibo. Disputes stretch back to 1841, when the Venezuelan government alleged that, in its acquisition of British Guiana (now Guyana) from the Netherlands, the British had encroached on Venezuelan territory. In 1899, the border was decided by an international Tribunal of Arbitration and the region has remained under control of British Guiana and now Guyana for over a century. In 2015, the discovery of oil off of Essequibo’s coast revived the territory dispute over the 160,000 square km (61,776 square miles) region. The region holds strong economic prospects. Guyana’s fast-growing economy is largely driven by gas and oil. For Venezuela, which has faced hyperinflation, international sanctions, and economic crises in recent years, a revival of the country’s oil industry—coupled with a recent ease in U.S. sanctions—could help stabilize the economy.
Claim: Essequibo River is a territory of Venezuela (Essequibo River, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-12-10): Venezuelans on Sunday approved a referendum to claim sovereignty over Essequibo, a mineral-rich territory that accounts for two-thirds of Guyana and lies near big offshore oil deposits. Military confrontation appears unlikely for now, but several countries have echoed Guyana's concerns over an annexation by its neighbor to the west. [...] In 2015, major oil deposits were first discovered off Essequibo's shore by an ExxonMobil-led consortium, piquing the interest of Venezuela, whose commitment to pursuing the territorial claim has fluctuated over the years. [...] The government claims about 10.5 million people — just over half of eligible voters — cast ballots. It says voters approved rejecting "by all means" the 1899 boundary, turning Essequibo into a state, giving area residents Venezuelan citizenship and rejecting the U.N. court's jurisdiction over the dispute. But Associated Press journalists and witnesses at voting centers said the long lines typical of Venezuelan elections never formed.
Claim: Essequibo River is a territory of Venezuela (Essequibo River, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-12-03): Essequibo: Venezuela votes on claim to Guyana-controlled oil region [...] The 159,500-sq-km (61,600-square-mile) region is known as Essequibo and makes up two thirds of the total of the land currently controlled by Guyana. It is home to 125,000 of Guyana's 800,000 citizens. [...] The fifth question asks for approval for "the creation of the Guayana Esequiba state" and its "incorporation into the map of Venezuelan territory", language particularly objected to by Guyana which says this amounts to the effective "annexation" of territory it currently administers.
Claim: Essequibo River is a territory of Venezuela (Essequibo River, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2009-01-01): The Venezuelan Boundary Dispute officially began in 1841, when the Venezuelan Government protested alleged British encroachment on Venezuelan territory. In 1814, Great Britain had acquired British Guiana (now Guyana) by treaty with the Netherlands. Because the treaty did not define a western boundary, the British commissioned Robert Schomburgk, a surveyor and naturalist, to delineate that boundary. His 1835 survey resulted in what came to be known as the Schomburgk Line, a boundary that effectively claimed an additional 30,000 square miles for Guiana. In 1841 Venezuela disputed the British delineation, claiming territorial delineations established at the time of their independence from Spain. Venezuela claimed its borders extended as far east as the Essequibo Riveran effective claim on two-thirds of British Guianas territory. When gold was discovered in the disputed territory, Great Britain sought to further extend its reach, claiming an additional 33,000 square miles west of the Schomburgk Line, an area where gold had been discovered. In 1876 Venezuela protested, broke diplomatic relations with Great Britain, and appealed to the United States for assistance, citing the Monroe Doctrine as justification for U.S. involvement.
Claim: Essequibo River is a territory of Venezuela (Essequibo River, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-12-06): Tension is growing between Venezuela and Guyana, as Caracas said it is preparing legislation to claim Guyana’s Essequibo region as its own. [...] Maduro said he will proceed "to grant operating licences for the exploration and exploitation of oil, gas and mines in the entire area of our Essequibo". He demanded that Guyanese companies working in the territory leave within three months. [...] Venezuela has for decades laid claim to Essequibo, claiming that the Essequibo River to the region’s east forms a natural border and has historically been recognised as such.
Claim: Essequibo River is a territory of Venezuela (Essequibo River, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-11-21): Venezuelans hold as self-evident truth that their homeland’s eastern end includes Guyana’s Essequibo region next to the Atlantic — a territory larger than Greece and rich in oil and minerals. As students, they learn it is subject to a century-old dispute and then, for the most part, forget about it. [...] "The Essequibo belongs to Venezuela," the 11-year-old said firmly outside his school. He then added that the two South American neighbors are fighting over the territory "because it has gold, a lot of wealth, and oil, too." Most of Guyana’s foreign investment is in the 61,600-square-mile (159,500-square-kilometer) area, which accounts for two-thirds of its territory. Yet, Venezuela has considered Essequibo as its own since gaining independence from Spain in 1811, and it disputes the border decided by international arbitrators in 1899 when Guyana was still a British colony.
Claim: Essequibo River is a territory of Venezuela (Essequibo River, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-12-07): A border feud has been spiraling over the Essequibo region, which has been administered and controlled by Guyana for more than a century, although Venezuela also claims the disputed area. Venezuela recently conducted a referendum, which it claims citizens supported, that aims to give Venezuela authority over the Essequibo region. Guyanese officials said in response that the country is preparing to defend itself and its borders in case of an invasion. [...] Guyana, a former British and Dutch colony, insists the Essequibo frontiers were determined by an arbitration panel in 1899. But Venezuela claims the Essequibo River to the region's east forms a natural border recognized as far back as 1777. [...] On Tuesday, Maduro proposed a bill to create a Venezuelan province in Essequibo and ordered the state oil company to start issuing licenses for extracting crude in the region.
Claim: Essequibo River is a territory of Venezuela (Essequibo River, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-12-11): On December 3, Venezuela held a referendum to consult the population on whether they agreed that Venezuela should exercise effective sovereignty over the Essequibo territory – a territory of approximately 160,000 km2 east of Venezuela, that is claimed by both but currently belongs to Guyana. [...] The territory, more than twice the size of New Brunswick with a population of 125,000 people, has vast forest and water reserves, making it a potential source of hydroelectric energy. Additionally, it houses significant deposits of precious minerals such as gold, exploited by Guyana since 1841 when the territorial dispute with Venezuela began. The most attractive asset of the Essequibo is undoubtedly its reserve of oil and gas located in an area of about 26,000 square kilometres known as Stabroek, and much of this reserve is in the territorial waters of the region contested by Venezuela. [...] Historically, the Essequibo was part of Venezuela. This claim is based on documents and acts from the time of the Spanish colony, demonstrating that the territory of Venezuela, then called Capitanía General de Venezuela, extended to the Essequibo line, thus including the Essequibo. Before Guyana became a republic, it was a colony of the United Kingdom (UK) and, previously, the Netherlands. Both the kingdoms of Spain and the Netherlands signed the Treaty of Munster (1648), recognizing Spanish sovereignty on the river’s western side. When the UK acquired the provinces of Demerara, Berbice, and Essequibo, later known as British Guiana, through the Treaty of London (1814), the country acknowledged that its territory extended to the Essequibo River.
Claim: Essequibo River is a territory of Venezuela (Essequibo River, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-01-31): ONLINE EVENT: The Venezuelan-Guyanese Border Crisis—The Essequibo Controversy The Guyanese-Venezuelan territorial controversy over the border territory around the Essequibo River has emerged as a significant geopolitical challenge in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Essequibo, a vast territory encompassing about two-thirds of Guyana, has emerged as a serious point of contention between the two nations. The disagreement has intensified in recent years following the discovery of massive offshore oil and gas reserves off Guyana’s coast in 2015, with Venezuela reactivating their claim over the area. On December 3, Venezuelans approved a referendum called by the government of Nicolas Maduro, claiming sovereignty of the Essequibo, and disregarding the non-interference order of the International Court of Justice.
Claim: Essequibo River is a territory of Venezuela (Essequibo River, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2015-09-29): Ever so often, sections of the local and foreign media propagate the erroneous idea of an existing territorial "dispute" between Venezuela and Guyana over the Essequibo region. They report about the "disputed" oil-rich Essequibo territory, conveniently ignoring the fact that the territory was firmly defined as Guyana’s by the international arbitral award of October 1899. Actually, what has existed since 1962 is a spurious and illegal claim by Venezuela to Guyana’s disputed territory. In that year, Venezuela assumed the right to unilaterally pronounce that the award was "null and void" and ventured to declare ownership over roughly two-thirds of Guyana’s territory. The area included all territory west of the Essequibo River, except for a narrow strip east of a straight line stretching from the mouth of the Pomeroon River to the confluence of the Mazaruni and the Essequibo Rivers. In later years, Venezuela expanded this claim to include this strip, along with the islands in the Essequibo River.
Claim: Essequibo River is a territory of Venezuela (Essequibo River, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-12-07): SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Guyana’s president told The Associated Press on Wednesday that his country is taking every necessary step to protect itself from Venezuela, which has ordered its state-owned companies to explore and exploit oil and minerals in the vast Essequibo region, which Guyana considers its own. [...] Venezuela insists the region belongs to it because Essequibo was within its boundaries during the Spanish colonial period. Venezuela rejects the border that international arbitrators drew in 1899, when Guyana was still under British rule. The dispute escalated after Maduro held a referendum on Sunday in which Venezuelans approved his claim of sovereignty over Essequibo.
Claim: Essequibo River is a territory of Venezuela (Essequibo River, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-01-09): Tensions escalated in September 2023, when Guyana held an auction for oil exploration licenses. Maduro then heightened the political brinksmanship by scheduling a consultative referendum, which asked Venezuelans whether the country should reject the ICJ’s jurisdiction in the territorial dispute and incorporate Essequibo as a Venezuelan state to be named Guyana Esequiba. On December 1, 2023, two days before the referendum vote, the ICJ prohibited Venezuela from taking action that would change the status quo in Essequibo. Although voter turnout appeared to be low—notwithstanding the National Electoral Council’s claim that more than half of the electorate had participated—the majority of those who did vote endorsed Venezuela’s claim to sovereignty over Essequibo. Maduro followed with an order for the state oil company to issue extraction licenses for Essequibo and proposed that Venezuela’s National Assembly pass a bill to annex the disputed territory.
Claim: Essequibo River is a territory of Venezuela (Essequibo River, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-12-06): Guyana's President Irfaan Ali said the country is taking every necessary step to protect itself from Venezuela, which has ordered its state-owned companies to explore and exploit oil and minerals in Guyana's vast and resource-rich Essequibo region that it considers its own, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday. Ali shared similar sentiments in a Tuesday interview with CBS News, explaining that Guyana is preparing to defend the borders with Venezuela so they remain as they are. [...] Venezuela has claimed its citizens voted overwhelmingly in favor of a referendum that aims to give Venezuela authority over the Essequibo region in Guyana. It is part of a long-running border dispute between Venezuela and Guyana. [...] Venezuela insists the region belongs to it because Essequibo was within its boundaries during the Spanish colonial period. Venezuela rejects the border that international arbitrators drew in 1899, when Guyana was still under British rule.
Claim: Essequibo River is a territory of Venezuela (Essequibo River, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-10-03): Guyana’s economy has run on mining gold, which is a readily available resource that the country takes advantage of in the disputed Essequibo territory. Although gold is as synonymous with the region as vast tropical forests and unique biodiversity, the Essequibo is also known for the depth of its legal complexity. As a Venezuelan territory subject to the Geneva Agreement, it is in a state of legal limbo. Venezuela is unable to exercise its sovereignty and can do little more than raise awareness about environmental and human rights abuses occurring there. Furthermore, it is a land mostly inhabited by indigenous communities, who are affected by any changes in their territories. In order to maintain any semblance of sustainable practices, all mining activity is supposed to be overseen by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC). An organization empowered by the government, the GGMC issues exploration permits and mining licenses of varying scales depending on sampling for precious and quarry minerals in a region. A lack of transparency, bloated administrative processes, and failure to delineate and enforce environmentally sound standards on sustainable practices has led to the system decimating the Essequibo today.
Claim: Essequibo River is a territory of Venezuela (Essequibo River, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-12-08): Guyanese president, Irfaan Ali, appealed to Washington and to the UN after the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, announced that he had taken steps to formalise the incorporation of Essequibo – an oil-rich 160,000sq km region of neighbouring Guyana – as part of Venezuela. [...] Venezuela’s territorial dispute with neighbouring Guyana is a longstanding one. It is arguably made worse by the news that there might be oil and gas potential in Essequibo – not just on land but also under the seabed. [...] Successive Venezuelan governments and dictatorial regimes have disputed the positioning of the international boundary. They have argued that the territory, in and around the Essequibo River, is not Guyanese.
Claim: Essequibo River is a territory of Venezuela (Essequibo River, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-08-29): In December 2023, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro threatened to annex Essequibo, the territory west of the Essequibo river, which constitutes two thirds of the neighbouring State of Guyana, and incorporate it into Venezuela as Guyana Esequiba. These notes trace the history of the almost 200-year dispute between Venezuela and the British colony of British Guiana (formed from three former Dutch colonies in 1831), which became the independent republic of Guyana in 1966 over the territory between the rivers Orinoco and Essequibo. In October 1899 an arbitration tribunal, before which the United States represented Venezuelan interests, awarded 95% of the disputed territory to Britain. The decision was accepted by Venezuela until 1962, when President Rómulo Betancourt declared the award null and void and resuscitated Venezuela´s claim to sovereignty over Essequibo. The 1966 Geneva Agreement between Venezuela and Britain/Guyana to reach an agreement satisfactory to both sides failed, and no progress on the issue was made during the following decades. With the discovery of oil offshore Essequibo in 2015, Venezuela intensified its claim to the territory. This led eventually to Maduro´s decision in 2023 to take unilateral action.
Claim: Essequibo River is a territory of Venezuela (Essequibo River, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-01-11): A member of the Lokono Indigenous people, Perreira considers his home Essequibo, a vast territory on the western flank of Guyana. He grew up in Wakapoa, a village composed of 16 islands on the Pomeroon River, nestled in the heart of the region. [...] Though tensions have subsided since the December 3 referendum, the ongoing question of whether Essequibo could be annexed to Venezuela has sparked anxiety among those who call the territory home. [...] But since the referendum, Maduro has proceeded to declare Essequibo "a province" of Venezuela. He also directed Venezuela’s state-owned companies to "immediately" begin exploration for oil, gas and minerals in the region.
Claim: Essequibo River is a territory of Venezuela (Essequibo River, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-12-08): Venezuelans voted on Dec. 3 to implement the creation of a new state — Guayana Esequiba — in territory currently disputed by Venezuela and Guyana. Since then, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has issued a flurry of announcements suggesting that Venezuela will soon move to annex the territory west of the Essequibo River. Shortly after the votes, he designated a general as the sole administrator of Guayana Esequiba state and announced the creation of an Integrated Operational Defense Zone — ZODI Guayana Esequiba — to be headquartered in the border town of Tumeremo. Videos published by a strategic operational commander of the Venezuelan military indicate that land is being cleared near La Camorra to create an airstrip, which he said would serve as a "logistical support point." On Dec. 7, Maduro announced the construction of 120 homes for the "Esequibano-Venezuelan people" in San Martin de Turumban, a small town that sits directly on the disputed border, which may become Venezuela's launch point for additional incursions into Guyana's territory. While Guyana's President Irfaan Ali has stated his military is preparing for the "worst case scenario," the 4,150 soldiers in Guyana's military are too few to secure the entire land border.
Claim: Essequibo River is a territory of Venezuela (Essequibo River, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-12-14): However, Venezuela has refused to recognize the results of the arbitration since 1962 and has claimed that she was despoiled of the Essequibo region. Situated west of the eponymous Essequibo River and comprising more than two-thirds of Guyana’s landmass, the territory is controlled and administered by Guyana in accordance with the 1899 ruling. [...] More recently, the waters off the coast of the Essequibo have been found to contain one of the world’s largest crude oil deposits. In light of this, President Nicolas Maduro has begun to make moves to assert control over the region. In January 2021, Maduro escalated tensions by making a vow to "reconquer" the Essequibo region, which is a Guyanese sovereign territory in the eyes of the international community. [...] The government of Guyana then approached the ICJ for provisional measures, specifically to request that Venezuela be ordered not to take any of the actions that would be called for by the referendum, including especially the "creation" of a new Venezuelan state consisting of Guyana’s Essequibo Region and incorporating it into Venezuela’s territory, or granting Venezuelan citizenship or identification cards to the population, because these actions would amount to an unlawful annexation of Guyana’s territory, in violation of the most fundamental principles of international law enshrined in the UN Charter.
Claim: Essequibo River is a territory of Venezuela (Essequibo River, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2016-01-08): The Essequibo (in Spanish, Esequibo), is an undeveloped, sparsely populated but resource-rich jungle territory region, nearly sixty percent of modern Guyana, consisting of all its territory west of the Essequibo River (see map). Venezuela’s deeply rooted belief is that the Essequibo region was unjustly taken from them by meddling foreign powers. It is a matter of national integrity, made more alluring by the possible wealth of natural resources there. Guyana’s position is that they are trying to defend the land that has been part of their country for almost 200 years, land they need to help develop their country economically. The territorial dispute, dating back to the 1830s, has heated up in recent months, after Exxon Mobil, working for the Guyanese government, announced in May 2015 that it had discoverd a large reserve of oil in ocean waters off the disputed territory.