evidence: The dispute over the Essequibo region—an approximately 160,000 square km stretch of densely forested land that constitutes two-thirds of Guyana’s territory and is home to roughly 125,000 of its 800,000 citizens—stretches back to the 19th century, when Guyana was under colonial rule. Venezuela has laid claim to the Essequibo region since 1841, when it argued that the British Empire had encroached on Venezuelan territory in its acquisition of the territory of then-British Guiana from the Netherlands. It has also challenged the validity of the 1899 Paris Arbitral Award through which the border between Venezuela and British Guiana was decided. [...] In the letter requesting today’s meeting, Ali cited the "Organic Law for the Defense of Guayana Esequiba", which Maduro signed on 3 April. He warned that this action "cements Venezuela’s intent to annex more than two-thirds of Guyana’s sovereign territory and make it part of Venezuela". Maduro described the law as the implementation of the results of the 3 December 2023 referendum. He added that the law "establishes the creation of state number 24, the state of Guayana Esequiba within the political and territorial organization of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela". The law also reiterated Venezuela’s rejection of the validity of the 1899 Paris Arbitral Award and the ICJ’s jurisdiction on the matter.