- [Kejal] Venezuela unveiled

its new national map in December,

adding an area the size of Florida to its territory.

But this land called the Essequibo belongs to Guyana,

a country rich in golden diamonds,

it is now one of the world's

fastest growing crude oil producers.

For more than a century,

Venezuela has laid claim to the Territory

- Annexing Essequibo practically

wiping Guyana off of the map.

- I'm here in Caracas,

trying to understand more about President Maduro's plans

to take over this land and what it means in this region

as these two oil-rich countries clash.

- [Kejal] The dispute for the Essequibo

dates back to the 19th century

when Great Britain acquired Guyana

and expanded its Territory to the West.

But Venezuela protested saying the Essequibo

was part of its Territory under Spanish rule.

Tensions between the two countries intensified in 1966

when Guyana gained independence from Britain.

Guyana has since sought a resolution

through the International Court of Justice,

but Venezuela rejects the procedure.

The Essequibo makes up two thirds of Guyana

and is mostly covered in rainforest.

The Territory has large reserves of gold and diamonds

- Essequibo region contribute

to the country's economic wealth.

Our forest is an important resource.

We have large deposits of gold reserves,

- [Kejal] But a turning point came in 2015

when oil was found off the Essequibo Coast.

Since then, a consortium

led by the US Oil giant, ExxonMobil,

said it has discovered up to 11 billion barrels of oil

and natural gas resources.

Oil executives say that

this was the largest discovery of the decade.

It could give the country the highest oil output per capita

in the world ahead of oil-rich Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

- Guyana it's interesting because it is a new producer.

It's a country where until 2015,

no one knew that there was oil

and it has started to produce,

and it's a not OPEC member, which is very important.

And it includes it's possibility to already

deliver oil to the market in a market that is restricted

because of all the sanctions that exist to Russia.

- [Kejal] Because of its new found oil revenues,

Guyana had the highest real GDP growth

in the world in 2022, 62.3%,

and the International Monetary Fund

predicts its GDP will keep growing.

Guyana went from one of South America's poorest countries

to having one of the world's fastest growing economies.

- We are poised to earn,

on average about 5 to $6 billion per annum by 2035.

- But Venezuela's president Nicolas Maduro

says the oil reserves in the Essequibo

belong to his country.

While Guyana reaps from the oil windfall.

Venezuela's economy has contracted 80%

since Maduro came to office in 2013.

Nearly 8 million Venezuelans have fled in the past decade.

Hundreds of thousands of them wound up in the US.

In order to oust Maduro, the US imposed sanctions

on the Venezuelan oil industry in 2019.

The Biden administration agreed to temporarily lift

some economic sanctions on Venezuela in October

in exchange for democratic reforms,

which include allowing opposition candidates

to run in this year's presidential election.

US officials said that allowing more oil and gas money

to flow in could help stabilize Venezuela

and ease the large flow of migrants.

But when it comes to the Essequibo dispute,

Washington is not a Venezuela side.

The State Department said it supports Guyana,

which has held meetings

with officials from the US Defense Department

to increase cooperation.

(groovy music)

In December, Venezuela's government

said more than 10 million voters

approved annexing Essequibo in a referendum.

(protestor speaking in foreign language)

(drum music)

But election experts have cast doubts

on the veracity of the results,

especially in a country where the government

has been accused of widespread electoral fraud

in past elections.

(Maduro speaking in foreign language)

- [Kejal] After the referendum,

Maduro ordered the country's state-owned companies

to explore and exploit the oil, gas,

and mines in the Essequibo,

and told foreign companies that they have three months

to abandon their operations in the region.

- Guyana views this as an imminent trap

to its territorial integrity

and will intensify precautionary measures.

- [Kejal] As tension started to rise,

the UK sent a warship to support Guyana

and Maduro responded

with air and naval exercises near the border.

(cheerful music)

Experts said the referendum was largely

a wag the dog moment for Maduro,

as he tries to rally nationalist support

ahead of the presidential election later this year.

- It's a typical strategy of a dictator autocrat

of finding a problem to distract people from their reality,

which is a completely devastated economic situation

and a horrible humanitarian situation.

- [Kejal] The leaders of Guyana

and Venezuela have met to discuss the annexation

and agreed to avoid conflict,

but Guyana refused Maud's plans to settle the dispute

through bilateral negotiations asking the UN to intervene

and lay Venezuela's claims to rest.

But experts say the case is likely to drag on for years.

(pensive music)