Overview
- Venezuela, represented by Samuel Moncada, told judges Wednesday it holds an irrenunciable right to the Esequibo and does not recognize the court’s jurisdiction.
- Guyana urged the court to uphold the 1899 arbitral award and warned that losing the territory would threaten the country’s very identity.
- The court previously said in 2020 that it has jurisdiction and in 2025 ordered Venezuela to avoid holding elections in the disputed region.
- The Esequibo spans about 160,000 square kilometers, contains gold, diamonds, and nearby offshore oil, and is home to roughly 125,000 people.
- The ICJ’s rulings are legally binding but the court has no enforcement arm, so any decision could take months or years to alter control on the ground.