Venezuela to submit protest to UN on U.S. "meddling"

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday said he will submit a protest to the U.N. secretary general on the "meddling" of the U.S. government over the century-old territorial dispute between his nation and Guyana.

He lashed out at recent statements of U.S. ambassador to Guyana Perry Holloway, who requested the Venezuelan government to recognize the 1899 court sentence that denies Caracas's sovereignty over the Essequibo territory.

"The statements made by the U.S. ambassador confirmed that Washington and its economic, military and political elites back up Guyanese President, David Granger, on his attack towards Venezuela over this dispute," said Maduro in his weekly TV program.

According to the Venezuelan leader, the White House wants to trigger political tensions between Caracas and Georgetown to generate a military conflict.

He said the 1899 Paris court sentence is "invalid and null" and his government only recognizes the 1966 Geneva agreement which demands both nations to resolve the conflict with the mediation of the United Nations.

Maduro added that his government has sent a "protest note" to the U.S. government after Holloway's statements.

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 this year.

The dispute stems from an 1899 court ruling that required Venezuela to relinquish an undeveloped but resource-rich jungle territory called the Essequibo.

Caracas contends the ruling was invalid after a treaty was signed in 1966 with Guyana and its former colonial ruler, Britain.

The United Nations has mediated in the conflict and assigned a commission to try to find a solution but neither of the countries had agreed on the issue. Endi