Guyana issues warning ahead of election organized by Venezuela over disputed region; AP explains

(25 May 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mexico City - 23 May 2025
1. SOUNDBITE (English) India Grant, The Associated Press:
"Venezuelans are heading to the polls on Sunday to elect governors and lawmakers, but this is also an election targeting its neighbor, Guyana."

ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: Essequibo territory, Guyana - 18 November 2023
2. Various of Guyanese flag on a wooden stick outside an indigenous house

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mexico City - 23 May 2025
3. SOUNDBITE (English) India Grant, The Associated Press:
"One newly created governorship would proportionately manage the Essequibo, a region rich in mineral resources which has long been contested between the two countries. Guyana has administered the region for more than a century."

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ARCHIVE: Essequibo territory, Guyana - 19 November 2023
4. Various aerials of Essequibo river, which Venezuela claims is the true border of the country ++ MUTE ++

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mexico City - 23 May 2025
5. SOUNDBITE (English) India Grant, The Associated Press:
"Most importantly, the Essequibo region is close to massive offshore oil deposits, which are predicted to generate more than $10 billion annually for the government, according USAID."

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ARCHIVE: Georgetown, Guyana - 12 April 2023
6. Various aerials of the construction of an artificial island at the mouth of Demerara River to create a shore base to supply the offshore oil production

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Mexico City - 23 May 2025
7. SOUNDBITE (English) India Grant, The Associated Press:
"Venezuela's election does not mean it will rule over the territory, but it is the latest step from the government of Nicolas Maduro in a decades-long dispute, which ignores rulings from the UN's top court."

ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: Essequibo territory, Guyana - 18 November 2023
8. Various aerials of Essequibo territory ++MUTE ++

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mexico City - 23 May 2025
9. SOUNDBITE (English) India Grant, The Associated Press:
"Any actual governing of Essequibo from Venezuela would take much more than a vote. Guyana has reacted strongly to the elections, saying that any Venezuelans who participate from Guyana risk being arrested and charged with treason."

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ARCHIVE: Essequibo territory, Guyana - 19 November 2023
10. Locals walking by

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ARCHIVE: Essequibo territory, Guyana - 18 November 2023
11. Cow crossing road
STORYLINE:
Guyana's defense chief warned on Wednesday that any residents who participate in upcoming elections organized by neighboring Venezuela over a disputed region will be charged with treason and other felony crimes.

“If anyone participates or takes any similar action, it will amount to support for a passive coup,” Brig. Gen. Omar Khan told The Associated Press. “Anything along those lines will speak to a violation of our sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

The May 25 election organized by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is the latest step in a push to annex the Essequibo region, which Venezuela has long claimed as its own.

Venezuelans living in Guyana who become involved in Sunday’s elections could also face arrest and deportation, Khan added.

Nearly 100,000 people of direct or indirect Venezuelan ancestry currently live in Guyana, according to Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud.

“Shouldn’t this reality give all Guyanese a cause to be alert? People’s vigilance is equivalent to people’s power and defense,” Persaud said in a recent social media post.
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