Venezuelan voters reject ICJ jurisdiction in dispute with Guyana

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro shows his ballot during a referendum over Venezuela's rights to the potentially oil-rich region of Esequiba in Guyana, in Caracas, Venezuela, December 3, 2023. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria

CARACAS/GEORGETOWN (Reuters) -Voters in Venezuela rejected the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) jurisdiction over the country's territorial dispute with Guyana and backed the creation of a new state in the potential oil-rich Esequibo region in a Sunday referendum.

The court this week barred Venezuela from taking any action which would change the status quo in the area, which is the subject of an active case before the ICJ, but President Nicolas Maduro's government went ahead with a five-question "consultative" referendum.