Secret US Army, CIA Bases Gearing Up for Escalation in Disputed Essequibo Region - Maduro

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced on Thursday that the Venezuelan government has obtained verified information regarding secret military bases established by the US Southern Command and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on the disputed territory of the Essequibo region with Guyana.

In early December, Venezuelans voted in a referendum to claim sovereignty over the Essequibo. More than half of Venezuela's eligible voters, or 10.55 million people, participated in the referendum, with all five questions on the ballot gaining 95% public support.

"On the territory of Guyana Esequiba, there are secret military bases of the Southern Command, the Southern Command's military cells and CIA cells established to prepare attacks against the population of Tumeremo in the south and east of Venezuela, as well as to prepare for an escalation against Venezuela," Maduro was quoted as saying by the presidential press service on X during a ceremony to sign a law to protect the Essequibo region.

He added that the disputed region was being governed by the Southern Command, the CIA and the US oil giant, ExxonMobil, which seek to seize Venezuelan resources, adding that they control all the local governing bodies, including the defense and police.

During the ceremony, which took place at Maduro’s presidential residence, the Miraflores Palace in Caracas, he enacted a law for the protection of the region which had been approved by the state parliament in its first reading in December 2023. The legislation establishes a new Venezuelan state west of the Essequibo River, includes the activation of a social assistance plan for the entire population of the territory, and provides for a census and documents.

Venezuela gained independence from Spain in 1845, with Essequibo recognized as part of its sovereign territory. In 1899, however, the United Kingdom filed and won an arbitration claim to recognize Essequibo as part of its then-Caribbean colony of British Guiana. Independent Guyana cited this 1899 Arbitral Award in its 2018 International Court of Justice suit against Venezuela, claiming sovereignty over the disputed territory.