Guyana says shots fired from Venezuela at boat carrying election materials

Guyanese armed forces and police have said that gunshots were “fired from Venezuela” at a boat carrying materials for Guyana's election, prompting a patrol boat to return fire.

According to a joint statement, the incident occurred at around 1830 GMT on Sunday on the Cuyuni River in the contested and oil-rich Essequibo region, which has been at the centre of a territorial dispute between Venezuela and Guyana.

The patrol boat, which included military and police personnel, was escorting Guyana election officials as they distributed ballots to remote polling stations when it came under fire from the Venezuelan shore, the statement said.

"The patrol immediately returned fire and successfully manoeuvred the escort team out of danger. No injuries were sustained by any personnel, and no election materials were damaged or compromised," the statement said.

"Despite the incident, the team safely continued its journey and all remaining ballot boxes were successfully delivered to their assigned polling stations," it added.

On Monday, Guyana is holding elections for a new president and parliament for the country of 850,000 people, which has the largest per capita oil reserves on the planet.

Most of these reserves are located in Essequibo.

Guyana and Venezuela have each complained of gunfire targeting their boats in the past, but both typically refrain from blaming the other's armed forces.

Incumbent Guyana President Irfaan Ali has taken a firm stance against Venezuela and enjoys US support in his country's claims over the Essequibo territory.

Venezuela has been increasingly assertive, and this year elected a governor to the region.

The dispute

The dispute over Essequibo, which makes up about two-thirds of Guyana's territory and has been administered by Guyana for more than a century, intensified in 2015 after the discovery of oil deposits by US-based energy giant ExxonMobil.

Venezuela and Guyana have pledged in past not to use force to settle the border dispute, which is currently before the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

Guyana, a former British and Dutch colony, insists the Essequibo frontiers were determined by an arbitration panel in 1899.

However, Venezuela claims the Essequibo River to the region's east has historically formed a natural border recognised as far back as 1777.

___

Source: TRT