BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) – Caribbean Community (Caricom) leaders say they have noted “with grave concern” statements made in Venezuela on the need to conduct elections in the Essequibo region of Guyana this April for a “Governor” and “Legislative Council” of the so-called “Guayana Esequiba State”.

Informed sources told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that the leaders discussed the issue at their summit which ended last Friday.

Caricom is yet to release a communique following the three-day summit, but the sources told CMC that the heads had received an update on the decades-old border dispute between Guyana and Venezuela as well as between Belize and Guatemala as is customary at their summits.

According to the sources, the Caricom leaders noted “with grave concern” the statements made by President Nicolas Maduro and the chairman of the National Electoral Council, Elvis Amoroso, in January this year, declaring their intention to conduct elections in the Essequibo region of Guyana on April 27.

The Venezuelans are planning to hold elections for a “Governor” and “Legislative Council” of the so-called “Guayana Esequiba State,” which Venezuela illegally purported to “annex” last year.

In 2023, Caracas claimed that more than half of eligible Venezuelan voters had taken part in a referendum that yielded overwhelming support for laying claim to the Essequibo.

Amoroso said more than 10.4 million out of 20.7 million eligible voters had cast their ballots.

The referendum came after the ICJ warned Caracas against “annexation” of Essequibo, an oil-rich region that makes up about two-thirds of Guyana and is home to 125,000 of its 800,000 citizens.