Venezuela voters approve Guayana takeover, but next move is unclear

• The vote took place after the International Court of Justice on Friday told Venezuela to refrain from "taking any action which would modify the situation that currently prevails in the territory." The court did not explicitly bar Venezuela from holding the referendum.
• President Nicolás Maduro has not said how he would move forward with taking over Essequibo.
• Guyanese President Irfaan Ali said in a public address on Sunday that Essequibo will remain part of Guyana. The country has increased its police patrols in the area, and Brazil has deployed some security forces to its shared border with Essequibo.

Context: Essequibo has been under Guyanese rule since 1966, and was formerly considered part of the British Guyana territory.

• But Venezuela has long said Essequibo was within its boundaries when it declared independence from Spain in 1811.
• Since large oil reserves were found in Essequibo in 2015, the government of President Nicolás Maduro has grown more vocal in its claims that the area is historically Venezuela's.
• The International Court of Justice is considering a 2018 request by Guyana to validate a 1899 decision that gave the country control over Essequibo.

Of note: The Venezuelan electoral commission claimed 10 million votes were cast on Sunday, but did not clarify if that meant 10 million people voted or if about 2 million filled out each of the five questions on the ballot.

• Several news agencies have reported seeing little turnout at polling centers.
• The opposition and political experts say the likely overstated voter turnout could be an ominous sign of how Maduro's government will handle the 2024 presidential elections.

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