CARACAS, VENEZUELA (By Piero Stewart, Energy Analytics Institute, 16.Jun.2026, Words: 300) — Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodríguez emphasized the OPEC country does not recognize the International Court of Justice or ICJ’s jurisdiction over the Essequibo region territorial dispute.
During a meeting on 16 Jun. 2026 at Miraflores Palace — attended by Venezuela’s foreign minister Yván Gil; state representative Larry Devoe; attorney general Arianny Seijo; former attorney general Reinaldo Muñoz; diplomat Jorge Reyes; and ambassador to France Samuel Moncada — she recalled the Venezuelan people expressed their will in a referendum on 3 Dec. 2023, rejecting the ICJ’s jurisdiction and asserting their sovereignty over the territory.
