On world maps, the western region of Guyana is called Essequibo, Esequibo or Guayana Esequiba. In Venezuelan school textbooks, it is hatched in red and marked "Zona en Reclamación" or "zone in reclamation." The two-centuries old border dispute between Venezuela and its eastern neighbor was almost forgotten before the president, Nicolas Maduro, promised his fellow citizens that he would "reconquer" the Essequibo. Tensions between Caracas and Georgetown have been running high for months. On Sunday December 3, Venezuelan voters will be asked n a referendum to decide ion the future of the disputed region.

Through his spokesperson, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in early November that he was "following the situation with concern." "Diplomatic tension between the two countries has never been so high," said the military specialist Rocio San Miguel in Caracas, adding that "military escalation has become one of the scenarios to be envisaged in the long term."

The Brazilian Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday that it had "intensified its defensive actions in the northern border region and increased its military presence." According to the Brazilian press, the army has rushed armored vehicles and troops to the border between the three countries. "Brazil has economic interests in Guyana," said San Miguel. "But the only possible way of easing the tensions between Venezuela and Guyana having President Ignacio Lula da Silva mediate, because he enjoys prestige within the left and has the upper hand over Maduro."

Essequibo covers 159,500 square kilometers of rainforest and is home to some 125,000 people. It is a green landscape with a subsoil rich in gas and oil, gold, diamonds, copper, bauxite, iron and aluminum. Guyana has less than a million inhabitants, and Essequibo represents more than two-thirds of its territory. It is the only English-speaking country in South America.

In 2015, ExxonMobil discovered a large crude oil deposit off the coast of Essequibo. The American company prefers to do business with tiny Guyana rather than socialist Venezuela. And so the territorial dispute has resurfaced. It has been raging since August, when Guyana launched a call for tenders to exploit several oil blocks in Essequibo. In October, the discovery of a new oil field brought Guyana's reserves to nearly 11 billion barrels. The country has been called "a new emirate." After growing by 57.8% in 2022 – a world record – Guyana's gross domestic product is set to grow by a further 38% this year, according to the International Monetary Fund.

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