Why are Venezuela and Guyana locked in a land dispute?

What in the World

• Episode: Why are Venezuela and Guyana locked in a land dispute?
• Website: What in the World
• Feed URL: https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/w13xtvrv.rss
• Duration: 00:15:47
• Published: 2023-12-05 15:46

Essequibo is part of Guyana in South America - it’s got lots of oil and dense rainforests.

But last Sunday, Venezuela voted to claim it in a referendum. There’s been a dispute over the region for a really long time but it’s bubbled up more recently when oil was discovered in Essequibo's offshore waters.

Rachelle Krygier, a BBC reporter from Venezuela, gives us the history behind this land dispute and also explains how the referendum campaign played out on TikTok. Anselm Gibbs, a journalist with the BBC based in Trinidad and Tobago, tells us how people living in Essequibo are reacting to the referendum result.

Also in this episode, our video games expert, Andrew Rogers, takes us through the new Grand Theft Auto trailer and what gamers can expect from the latest instalment when it’s released in 2025.

Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Emily Horler, Chelsea Coates and Luis Felipe Molina Editors: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks