Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has renewed Venezuela’s claim over the Essequibo region—an area administered by Guyana that covers more than two-thirds of its land territory—amid rising tensions after major offshore oil discoveries and new U.S. warnings against Venezuelan military action.
The Essequibo region, administered by Guyana and constituting more than two-thirds of its land territory, has remained the subject of a long-running dispute with Venezuela that has intensified in recent years as Guyana’s offshore oil production has expanded.
Maduro has repeatedly invoked the 1966 Geneva Agreement as the framework for resolving the controversy. In 2023, he publicly rebuked Guyanese President Irfaan Ali, saying: “President Irfaan Ali, enough of lies and of trying to hide the historical truth that weighs on the dispute over the Essequibo territory, whose only means of resolution, as you well know, is the Geneva Agreement of 1966. The steps your government is taking violate international legality and jeopardize peace in the region.”
Under the Geneva Agreement, if the parties fail to resolve the dispute, they are to choose a peaceful means of settlement; failing agreement, the United Nations secretary-general is empowered to decide on the next mechanism. The U.N. secretary-general ultimately referred the matter to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and Guyana filed its case there in March 2018. The ICJ has since ordered Venezuela to refrain from actions that would alter the situation on the ground while Guyana continues to administer the territory.
Tensions rose sharply ahead of Venezuela’s Dec. 3, 2023 referendum on measures tied to its Essequibo claim, including steps that Guyana said would amount to annexation. International and regional bodies have criticized Venezuela’s moves as unlawful; CARICOM, for example, cited the ICJ’s provisional measures and urged Venezuela not to take actions that would disrupt Guyana’s administration of the region.
The dispute has also spilled into maritime areas where Exxon Mobil is developing oil projects. In March 2025, Guyana said a Venezuelan coast guard vessel entered waters Guyana considers its maritime territory and approached the Prosperity floating production vessel operating in an Exxon-led block. Venezuela denied wrongdoing and argued the waters are subject to unresolved maritime delimitation.
During a March 2025 visit to Guyana as part of a Caribbean tour, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that any Venezuelan attack on Guyana or ExxonMobil’s operations would bring consequences. “It would be a very bad day, a very bad week for them,” Rubio said at a press conference alongside Ali, adding that “there will be consequences for adventurism” and “aggressive actions.” The trip coincided with U.S.-Guyana military exercises and new defense and security cooperation focused on offshore infrastructure.
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez responded that Venezuela would not abandon its claim and accused Guyana of acting illegally in maritime areas that Caracas says remain to be delimited.
The standoff has become a key regional concern as Guyana’s oil boom reshapes Caribbean energy dynamics and as neighboring states warn that any escalation could destabilize northern South America.
