Guyana Seeks To Stop Venezuelan Vote On Disputed Oil-Rich Area

Guyana asked on Tuesday the International Court of Justice to order Venezuela to stop a planned referendum on a potentially oil-rich territory which the two neighbors have disputed for over a century. The dispute between Venezuela and Guyana regarding the Essequibo region is a long-running one, stemming from an arbitration decision from 1899, which gave control over Essequibo to the then-British colony Guyana. Venezuela has not accepted the arbitration and recently moved to reinforce its claim over the territory with the referendum…