Guyana warns Venezuela ‘profoundly incorrect’ over claiming disputed territory

National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez, left, and chairman of the Special Commission for the Defence of Guyana Essequibo Hermann Escarra, unveil Venezuela’s new map that includes the Essequibo territory (Matias Delacroix/AP)

Vice president Bharrat Jagdeo has warned Guyana will protect its sovereignty after neighbouring Venezuela claimed sovereignty in a referendum over an oil and mineral-rich part of the country.

President Nicolas Maduro’s government argues the territory of Essequibo was stolen when the border was drawn more than a century ago.