Indigenous Venezuelans chant ‘Essequibo is ours’ in front of military helicopter

Striking footage has been shared of Indigenous Venezuelans side by side with army personnel, chanting ‘Essequibo is ours’ in response to a referendum over claiming the disputed territory, held on Sunday.

Venezuelan voters have overwhelmingly backed the country’s claim to Essequibo, a region long-controlled by Guyana. Over 95% of voters backed establishing a new Venezuelan state in the territory, which was awarded in 1899 to Britain, who then controlled Guyana.

The 159,500-sq-km (61,600-square-mile) region makes up two thirds of the total of the land currently controlled by Guyana, and has been the cause of rising tensions in recent years, not least since the 2015 discovery of oil in Essequibo waters. This was exacerbated by Guyana holding an auction this year for oil drilling rights.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro hailed the result as an ‘overwhelming victory,’ adding that ‘we have taken the first steps of a new historic stage in the struggle for what belongs to us, to recover what the liberators left us.’

Guyana’s president, meanwhile, has reassured citizens that their government will defend the territory, and that there is ‘nothing to fear,’ while the International Court of Justice has warned Venezuela not to take any action towards claiming Essequibo.

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