Venezuela’s Maduro pledges to permit development in disputed territory

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Tuesday he would authorize oil exploration in an area subject to a dispute with Guyana, which said it would report his comments to the United Nations and the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Maduro’s pledge to permit development around the Esequibo river came after his government held a referendum over the weekend where voters rejected the ICJ’s jurisdiction over the disagreement and backed creating a new state in the territory.
Though Maduro has repeatedly said the referendum is binding, the ICJ – whose overall ruling on the case could be years away – last week barred Venezuela from taking any action which changes the status quo in the oil-rich region.