Venezuela** Nicolás Maduro signed a decree that effectively annexes the territory of Essequiba, which is disputed with Guyana, to the Bolivarian Republic, TASS reported on December 9.
Maduro announced the decrees at a rally in Caracas, where one of the documents appointed the head of the new province. ** Says an office will be set up on Saturday in the town of Tumeremo to issue Venezuelan identity cards.
Maduro also signed and announced a decree establishing a high-level committee for the protection of Essequibo, which will be chaired by executive deputy Delsi Rodríguez.
Another decree provides for an updated map of Venezuela.
There is also a decree ordering the national oil company PDVSA to create a regional branch and provides for "the commencement of the issuance of oil, gas and mining licenses throughout the country".
In addition, Maduro announced a decree on the creation of an overall defense zone in Ethiopia.
On December 6, the National Assembly of Venezuela voted unanimously on the results of a consultative referendum to approve the first reading of the bill to defend the territory of Essequibo in Venezuela, which proposes the establishment of the 24th province of Venezuela in Essequibo.
For more than a century, Venezuela and Guyana have been at odds over the 159,500 square kilometers west of the Essequibo River.
Tensions escalated after Guyana offered ExxonMobil a concession to explore oil in undemarcated offshore areas after the discovery of oil fields containing at least 10 billion barrels of oil in 2015.
In April, the International Court of Justice of the United Nations ruled that Guyana's demarcation proceedings against Venezuela were admissible on the basis of an 1899 decision of the Paris Court of Arbitration. The court ruled that 90 percent of the disputed area to the London colony of British Guiana, citing false maps provided by the British colonists and intense pressure from the British.
Venezuela considers the Guyanase Essequiba to be its legitimate territory and considers the dispute to be outside the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice and insists on direct demarcation negotiations with Guyana in accordance with the provisions of the 1966 Geneva Agreement.
After the referendum, Venezuela underwent a military mobilization, while the U.S. Southern Command announced air patrols for Guyana.
Now the whole world is looking forward to the official involvement of the US military in one war to see if the US military can cope with three wars at the same time.