evidence: Venezuelans hold as self-evident truth that their homeland’s eastern end includes Guyana’s Essequibo region next to the Atlantic — a territory larger than Greece and rich in oil and minerals. As students, they learn it is subject to a century-old dispute and then, for the most part, forget about it. [...] "The Essequibo belongs to Venezuela," the 11-year-old said firmly outside his school. He then added that the two South American neighbors are fighting over the territory "because it has gold, a lot of wealth, and oil, too." Most of Guyana’s foreign investment is in the 61,600-square-mile (159,500-square-kilometer) area, which accounts for two-thirds of its territory. Yet, Venezuela has considered Essequibo as its own since gaining independence from Spain in 1811, and it disputes the border decided by international arbitrators in 1899 when Guyana was still a British colony.