Guaidó investigated for "abandoning" dispute with Guyana over Esequibo

Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek Saab announced today the official opening of an investigation into the head of Parliament, Juan Guaidó, accused by the Chavez government of having intended to give up the claim on Esequibo, a disputed region with Guyana since the 19th century.

"We opened an investigation against the citizens Juan Guaidó, Vanessa Neumann and Manuel Avendaño to be these citizens allegedly involved in an illegal negotiation, behind the country, who intend to give up the historic claim of our country in the territory of Esequibo, "Saab said.

More on this topic

A few hours after the announcement of the news, Avendaño entered the Chilean embbady in Caracas to seek protection and was welcomed as a guest, reported the agency EFE.

S addressing the national VTV channel, Saab said that The investigation began Thursday after the request of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

The Venezuelan Vice President, Delcy Rodríguez presented an audio to the official media in which, allegedly, Neumann and Avendaño emphasized that if the Venezuelan opposition ceased to demand the Esequibo, it would obtain greater support from the United Kingdom.

More on this topic

Neumann, whom Rodriguez has described as a US official, is currently appointed by Parliament as Guaidó's special envoy to the United Kingdom, while Avendaño was introduced as "advisor" to the leader of the opposition, who is now recognized as acting president of more than 50 countries.

Rodriguez accused Guaidó of "belonging to a criminal organization", that he accused of seeking to "satisfy the interests of transnational corporations", and reported on Maduro's request to the Prosecutor to initiate an investigation into the opponent.

Tax condemned the alleged conversation of Neumann and Avendaño that Rodríguez had, and said that the resignation of the Esequibo claim could result in the crime of "treason".

More on this topic

The Esequibo region has been under the mediation of the United Nations since the signing of the Geneva Accord in 1966, but territorial conflict has intensified in recent years after ExxonMobil's discovery of oil deposits in the region's waters.

The government of Venezuela issued at that time a presidential decree for the defense of the country, with a demarcation encompbading all the Atlantic waters off the coast of Esequibo, a maneuver that provoked the rejection of the Guyanese government and triggered tension between the two sides.

Guaidó, meanwhile, dismissed the investigation opened against him by the prosecution. "Those who have betrayed the homeland are those who are taking away power today, not only by giving up territory to irregular groups, but also by destroying the currency, without controlling the national territory," he said at a meeting. A press conference. Guaidó, recognized interim president of Venezuela by more than 50 countries, among them Argentina

The Leader of Parliament downplayed the announcement because, in his view, Saab "has no skill" and "usurps functions".

He also considered that it is a "new invention of the regime" and "a novel" of the government of Nicolás Maduro to divert the attention of his responsibility in the protection of the "narcoterrorists on the Venezuelan territory", groups to which the chavisme, according to him, finances "directly and indirectly".

The region of Esequibo covers an area of ​​about 160,000 square kilometers., which represents three quarters of the territory of Guyana.