evidence: Tension is growing between Venezuela and Guyana, as Caracas said it is preparing legislation to claim Guyana’s Essequibo region as its own. [...] Maduro said he will proceed "to grant operating licences for the exploration and exploitation of oil, gas and mines in the entire area of our Essequibo". He demanded that Guyanese companies working in the territory leave within three months. [...] Venezuela has for decades laid claim to Essequibo, claiming that the Essequibo River to the region’s east forms a natural border and has historically been recognised as such.