Lawmakers in Venezuela allied with the government of President Nicolas Maduro yesterday approved the creation of a new state in Guyana’s Essequibo despite an ongoing international court case.
Reuters reported that the approval is in line with recent rhetoric from Maduro about his country’s supposed right to govern the 160,000-square-km (62,000-square-mile) Essequibo region, but will have no immediate practical effect.
The two countries agreed last December to avoid any use of force and not to escalate tensions in the dispute after a meeting between Maduro and his Guyanese counterpart.
