evidence: On December 3, Venezuela held a referendum to consult the population on whether they agreed that Venezuela should exercise effective sovereignty over the Essequibo territory – a territory of approximately 160,000 km2 east of Venezuela, that is claimed by both but currently belongs to Guyana. [...] The territory, more than twice the size of New Brunswick with a population of 125,000 people, has vast forest and water reserves, making it a potential source of hydroelectric energy. Additionally, it houses significant deposits of precious minerals such as gold, exploited by Guyana since 1841 when the territorial dispute with Venezuela began. The most attractive asset of the Essequibo is undoubtedly its reserve of oil and gas located in an area of about 26,000 square kilometres known as Stabroek, and much of this reserve is in the territorial waters of the region contested by Venezuela. [...] Historically, the Essequibo was part of Venezuela. This claim is based on documents and acts from the time of the Spanish colony, demonstrating that the territory of Venezuela, then called Capitanía General de Venezuela, extended to the Essequibo line, thus including the Essequibo. Before Guyana became a republic, it was a colony of the United Kingdom (UK) and, previously, the Netherlands. Both the kingdoms of Spain and the Netherlands signed the Treaty of Munster (1648), recognizing Spanish sovereignty on the river’s western side. When the UK acquired the provinces of Demerara, Berbice, and Essequibo, later known as British Guiana, through the Treaty of London (1814), the country acknowledged that its territory extended to the Essequibo River.