Venezuela’s acting president makes first foreign visit to The Hague over land dispute

Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez has left the country for the first time since the ousting of Nicolás Maduro by US forces in January, traveling to The Hague to take part in hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the disputed Essequibo region.

In a televised address, Rodríguez said it had “fallen” on her to travel to the UN’s top court to “defend” Venezuela’s sovereignty in the court case, as Al Jazeera reports.

The ICJ has been hearing arguments in the long-running territorial dispute between Venezuela and neighbouring Guyana over the oil-rich Essequibo region, which currently makes up roughly two-thirds of Guyana’s territory.

At the center of the case is whether the existing border established in 1899 by arbitrators from Britain, Russia and the United States remains legally valid, or whether a later 1966 Geneva Agreement — signed before Guyana gained independence — supersedes that ruling.

Venezuela argues the original arbitration was fraudulent and claims American and European officials colluded to deprive Caracas of territory it says rightfully belongs to Venezuela. 

The United States represented Venezuela during part of the original arbitration process because diplomatic ties between Venezuela and Britain had broken down.

The dispute has taken on greater geopolitical significance since ExxonMobil discovered massive offshore oil reserves near Essequibo in 2008, transforming Guyana into one of the world’s fastest-growing oil producers.

Venezuela rejects ICJ authority

During hearings this week, Venezuelan representative Samuel Reinaldo Moncada Acosta reiterated Caracas’ rejection of the court’s jurisdiction.

“Guyana presents itself as the true, legitimate heir to British and Dutch territories, but the reality is that it is the beneficiary of colonial dispossession, formalized through fraudulent arbitration. The Geneva Agreement seeks to correct this century-old injustice,” Moncada told the court.

He added that Venezuela considers the ICJ’s jurisdiction to have been “erroneously imposed” in a 2020 ruling and argued that the Geneva Agreement established a framework for a negotiated political settlement instead of judicial arbitration.

Guyana, meanwhile, has asked the court to reaffirm the validity of the 1899 border settlement and accused Venezuela of threatening regional stability through its territorial claims.

Rodríguez, who previously served as Maduro’s vice president, became acting president after Maduro was apprehended and flown to the United States earlier this year.

She had long been under U.S. sanctions, though restrictions were reportedly lifted following her appointment as interim leader. Officials attending ICJ proceedings are generally granted diplomatic protections during court appearances.

The ICJ is expected to take several months before issuing a final and legally binding ruling in the case.

By Nazrin Sadigova