Venezuelan National Assembly approves proposal for the constitution of the state of Essequibo
▲ Yván Gil Pinto, Venezuelan Foreign Minister, yesterday at the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, in New York.Photo Ap
Sputnik and Prensa Latina
The newspaper La Jornada
Thursday, September 26, 2024, p. 32
Caracas. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro denounced yesterday that the software Israeli spy acquired by Colombian intelligence during the government of former President Iván Duque (2018-2022) is used to try to overthrow the current president Gustavo Petro and harm Venezuela.
“Colombia and Venezuela wonder who owns this espionage system Pegasuswhat it is being used for now; I do know: they are using it to try to overthrow President Petro, and at the same time, to harm us in Venezuela,” Maduro said during an interview on the Telesur channel.
Earlier this month, the Colombian prosecutor’s office announced that it will investigate the complaint made by Petro regarding the purchase of the software spy, who was paid in cash, from money laundering, in the amount of 11 million dollars.
Maduro pointed out that this is financed by the same people who promote a Fascist plan to try to fill Venezuela with violence.
According to the Colombian president, this software was used to spy for political purposes on opponents of the government of Iván Duque during the 2021 protests in Colombia against the policies of the then president and his fiscal and tax decisions.
On the other hand, the National Assembly of Venezuela approved yesterday the proposal for the constitution of the state of Essequibo, a prosperous oil region that it disputes with Guyana.
Deputy Hermann Escarrá, president of the Special Commission for the Defense of the Essequibo Territory, highlighted the historical significance of this bill, which is one of the most important for Venezuela.
This new state will encompass a vast territory, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Brazil, Guyana and the Venezuelan states of Delta Amacuro and Bolívar. To ensure the security and control of the territory, the Bolivarian National Armed Forces maintain a military deployment in the region.
During his participation in the General Assembly of the United Nations, the Venezuelan Foreign Minister, Yván Gil, accused the governments of the United States and Guyana of violating the maritime zone of the territory of this region. through the military presence of extra-regional actors and the illegitimate granting of oil concessions in an undelimited maritime area.
He reiterated that his country only recognizes the 1988 Geneva Agreement as the only way to reach a solution that restores Venezuela’s rights over the territory of Essequibo. Likewise, he reiterated that in the consultative referendum held in Caracas in December 2023, citizens ratified the country’s historical position of never recognizing the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice for this case.
For more than 100 years, Venezuela and Guyana have been at odds over the sovereignty of the Essequibo Region, which covers some 160,000 square kilometers west of the Essequibo River and has large oil reserves.
In 1966, both nations signed an agreement to seek a peaceful solution to the dispute, but in 2018, Guyana filed a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice asking the court to legally validate the 1899 arbitration award that gives it absolute control over the territory.
