Venezuela territorial claim on Guyana backed by 95% of voters

An "overwhelming" 95 percent of Venezuelan voters have approved of the country's territorial claim on a huge chunk of neighboring Guyana, according to an initial count from a non-binding national referendum.
It is "an evident and overwhelming victory for the 'Yes' in this consultative referendum for the Essequibo," said the president of the National Electoral Council, Elvis Amoroso, referring to the oil-rich region controlled by Guyana on which Venezuela has held a longstanding claim.

"In 1899, the US assigned the disputed territory to what was then the British colony of Guiana, accepting London’s arguments while exercising the Monroe Doctrine, under which the US considered the Americas its sphere of influence." RT