evidence: Last week, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordered the state’s oil companies to issue extraction licenses in oil-rich Essequibo—increasing tensions between the two countries and reigniting a longstanding territory dispute.This news comes after more than 95% of Venezuelan voters approved a referendum claiming ownership over land—which makes up more than two-thirds of Guyana—with plans to create a new state in the region, though some reports say that voters largely shunned the vote. On Tuesday, Maduro, who is trying to rename the territory Guayana Esequiba, debuted a new map of Venezuela that included the disputed region. "We want the peaceful rescue of the Guayana Esequiba," said Maduro, who also demanded that Guyanese companies working in the territory leave within three months. "Our Guayana Esequiba has been de facto occupied by the British Empire and its heirs and they have destroyed the area." [...] Venezuela has long sought to control Essequibo. Disputes stretch back to 1841, when the Venezuelan government alleged that, in its acquisition of British Guiana (now Guyana) from the Netherlands, the British had encroached on Venezuelan territory. In 1899, the border was decided by an international Tribunal of Arbitration and the region has remained under control of British Guiana and now Guyana for over a century.