Washington is seeking to establish a military base in the Guayana Esequiba location, which is objected to by Venezuela as well as Guyana, the previous’s international priest has actually declared.

In a speech to the UN General Assembly on Saturday, Yvan Gil stated the US considers itself “the sovereign” of Latin America, as well as is currently interfering in the greater than 200-year-old territorial conflict in between Caracas as well as Georgetown.

“The US government seeks to appropriate our oil resources by using the company Exxon Mobil, which has incorporated the government of Guyana into its ranks,” he stated.

Guayana Esequiba is abundant in oil as well as gas, particularly in offshore locations. In current years, expedition in the disputed territory has actually been controlled by an Exxon-led consortium, which has actually gotten an exploration certificate from Georgetown. Last week, Guyana held an additional overseas oil bidding process round, getting applications from Exxon Mobil, TotalEnergies as well as various other companies.

Guyana is acting “in total violation of international law” by providing those oil allows, the Venezuelan mediator stated. “Unilateral disposal of a disputed territory isn’t permissible, but the government of Guyana persists in its illegal conduct,” he firmly insisted.

According to Gil, Washington “intends to militarize the situation” in Guayana Esequiba.

“The [US] Southern Command seeks to establish a military base in the contested territory, with the aim of creating a spearhead in its aggression against Venezuela and consolidating the plunder of our energy resources,” he declared.

Gill revealed that previously today Venezuela’s National Assembly had “unanimously decided to call our people to vote in a consultative referendum to ratify the defense of our sovereign territory against the aggression of the American empire, which wants to lead us to a war for natural resources.” He did not state when specifically the ballot would certainly be held, or expose any kind of various other information.

Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali demanded Wednesday that his nation books the right “to pursue economic development activities in any portion of its sovereign territory or any appurtenant maritime territories.” The territorial fight in between Georgetown as well as Caracas is readied to be objected to in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), after the ICJ ruled in April that it has territory over the issue.

Earlier today, US Deputy Secretary of State Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols stated Washington’s assistance for Georgetown’s insurance claim on Guayana Esequiba, claiming it is “Guyana’s sovereign right to develop its own natural resources.”