On Monday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro asserted that the 1966 Geneva Agreement is the only legal instrument to address the Essequibo controversy.
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During his appearance on the "Con Maduro Mas" TV program, the Bolivarian leader referred to statements from the spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, Matthew Miller, who argued that Venezuela cannot resolve the Essequibo territory dispute through a referendum.
"Without provocations, arrogance, or warlike speeches, the Geneva Agreement is the unique legal instrument, as approved by the Venezuelan people, and that is how we will enforce it," Maduro emphasized.
The Venezuelan president also questioned the U.S. government's stance on the Venezuela-Guyana dispute, accusing them of encouraging aggression against his country.
"The President of Guyana said that he had U.S. troops ready to wage war against Venezuela. In other words, the U.S., once again, is acting as they do: they make a promise to Guyana, encourage them to provoke Venezuela, and then leave them alone," Maduro asserted.
He also highlighted the historic and significant participation of the Venezuelan people in the referendum, recognizing the level of patriotic awareness among voters.
"For the first time in the Venezuelan political and electoral history, over 96 percent of the voters approved a proposal... This shows the very high level of consensus that the majority of Venezuelans have on the five questions, which constitute a consulted, shared, and decided national vision," he affirmed.
Maduro also specified that the consensus levels on question number two, related to the Geneva Agreement as the only valid instrument for resolving the territorial controversy, were evident with the 98.26 percent approval it received.
On Sunday, over 10,400,000 Venezuelan citizens took part in the Essequibo consultative referendum, which concluded with a resounding victory for the "YES" vote.