Caracas, May 10 (SANA) Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodríguez said she will travel to The Hague to represent Venezuela before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the country’s territorial dispute with Guyana over the resource-rich Essequibo region.
Speaking in a televised address on Sunday, Rodríguez said her visit aims to defend Venezuela’s sovereignty and what she described as the rights of the Venezuelan people in the disputed territory, according to AFP.
The hearings come as the ICJ continues reviewing the legality of borders established during the colonial era.
Venezuela maintains that the border should be determined according to a 1966 agreement signed before Guyana gained independence, under which Caracas argues the Essequibo River constitutes the natural boundary between the two countries.
The ICJ has been asked to rule on the validity of borders drawn in 1899 under British colonial rule.
The dispute over the Essequibo region, which spans around 160,000 square kilometers, has intensified in recent years following major offshore oil discoveries by foreign energy companies, increasing the geopolitical significance of the area.
The visit marks Rodríguez’s first official trip outside the Caribbean since taking office earlier this year and comes amid political and economic shifts in Venezuela following the lifting of international sanctions in April.
R.D/ABD
