Venezuelan voters reject ICJ jurisdiction over dispute with Guyana

Officers help a man on the day of an electoral referendum over Venezuela's rights to the potentially oil-rich region of Esequiba, which has long been the subject of a border dispute between Venezuela and Guyana, in Caracas, Venezuela December 3, 2023. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria reuters_tickers

By Deisy Buitrago

CARACAS (Reuters) – Voters in Venezuela rejected in a Sunday referendum the International Court of Justice’s jurisdiction over the country’s long-running territorial dispute with neighboring Guyana and backed the creation of a new state in the Esequibo region.

The court has barred Venezuela from taking any action that would change the status quo in the area, but President Nicolas Maduro’s government went ahead with a five-question “consultative” referendum.

All questions passed with more than 95% approval, according the electoral authority.

(Reporting by Deisy Buitrago and Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Jamie Freed)