Venezuela-Guyana border dispute to involve UN mediation

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Friday he will speak with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to activate in the coming hours the Good Officers Process in relation to a century-old border dispute with Guyana.

"I will speak today with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to request him to initiate the Good Officers Process as soon as possible after this political maneuver by the Guyanese government to hurt our people," said Maduro in a televised broadcast.

The head of State added that Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez traveled earlier in the day to New York to meet with the UN chief and deliver a letter from him regarding this issue that has flared political tensions between both neighbors in recent days.

Maduro said Guyanese President David Granger "insulted and offended Venezuela" after a speech in Parliament Thursday when he said Caracas was a "threat" to the region. He also accused local opposition politicians of backing Guyana's claims, saying they do so because they're upcoming electoral campaigns are financed by U. S. oil giant ExxonMobil.

Maduro has denounced in recent days that the current impasse with Georgetown is part of a campaign against Caracas led by ExxonMobil and political groups in Washington.

The controversy centers on the lands west of the Essequibo River of Guyana, covering about two thirds of the small English- speaking nation after the U.S. company made an offshore oil discovery. The dispute stems from an 1899 court ruling that required Venezuela to relinquish an undeveloped but resource-rich jungle territory called the Essequibo that constitutes about two- thirds of Guyanese territory. Caracas contends the ruling was invalid after a treaty was signed in 1966 with Guyana and its former colonial ruler, the Great Britain.