On Sunday, the Venezuelan National Assembly (AN) rejected Guyana's attempt to question its call for a consultative referendum on the 160,000 square kilometers of territory located to the west of the Essequibo River.
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The Bolivarian parliament condemned the "insolent declaration by the Guyanese government" that seeks to challenge legitimate decisions and actions taken to “reaffirm the defense of the Essequibo territory, which, by right and history, belongs" to Venezuela.
The National Assembly, which unanimously approved the referendum on Thursday to strengthen the country's rights over the Essequibo, stated that Venezuela "does not accept, under any circumstances, questioning or accusations from any foreign country or force" regarding its decisions.
It regrets that Guyana "acts like a franchise" of the U.S. company ExxonMobil, whose "interests are essentially the appropriation of existing oil" in the area.
It pointed out that the United States and the United Kingdom, which are acting through the Commonwealth and the Organization of American States (OAS), seek to legitimize "immoral" and "legally manipulated" actions to "perpetrate a new and aberrant territorial robbery, oil resource theft, and openly attempt plunder."
The Venezuelan Assembly will "continue to exercise, in full sovereignty, the constitutional mandates entrusted to defend and preserve the sacred soil of Essequibo."
At the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday, Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Yvan Gil denounced that the U.S. "seeks to militarize" the dispute with Guyana and assured that Washington "aims to establish a military base" in the Essequibo.
A few hours later, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro urged Guyanese President Irfaan Ali to avoid the "escalation of a conflict" in an area where ExxonMobil has "undue interests."
Maduro also accused Ali of turning Guyana into a branch of this U.S. company due to his "eagerness to please powerful transnational interests."