Another Take: Venezuela voted to take over part of Guyana. Could it happen?
The Take
Al Jazeera
4.7 • 748 Ratings
🗓️ 27 July 2024
⏱️ 18 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Every Saturday, we revisit a story from the archives. This originally aired on December 7th, 2023. None of the dates, titles, or other references from that time have been changed.
Venezuela’s referendum to annex oil-rich territory in Guyana has created tension in Latin America not seen this century. But does the referendum signal possible annexation? Or is it political posturing by Nicolas Maduro, the country’s president, ahead of elections next year?
In this episode:
- Alessandro Rampietti (@rampietti), Al Jazeera Reporter
- Orin Gordon (@oringordon), Analyst
Episode credits:
This episode was updated by Tamara Khandaker. The original production team was Amy Walters, Fahrinisa Campana, and our host Malika Bilal.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik. Adam Abou-Gad is our engagement producer.
Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Al Jazeera Podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | Hi, I'm Tamara Kandacker. |
| 0:13.0 | I'm a producer with the take coming to you with another take, |
| 0:17.0 | where we resurface an episode from the archives. |
| 0:26.1 | Venezuelans are headed to the polls this Sunday to elect their next president. |
| 0:31.8 | And for the first time in a decade, current president Nicholas Maduro is facing a strong challenge. |
| 0:32.7 | Opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez has a significant lead in the polls. |
| 0:40.1 | There is a lot at stake here, |
| 0:45.6 | and not just inside Venezuela. People in neighboring countries are also going to be watching the results really closely. In Colombia, for example, which has taken in almost 3 million |
| 0:51.4 | Venezuelan refugees, many of them are dreaming of going back home, |
| 0:56.4 | and in Guyana, especially in the oil-rich region of Esquivo. It's a territory controlled by |
| 1:03.4 | Guyana that Venezuela's claimed since the 19th century. Maduro announced back in April that |
| 1:09.8 | he was going to annex the territory. And since then, |
| 1:12.9 | Venezuela's been building up its military presence along the border. His critics say that he's been |
| 1:18.8 | using this issue to mobilize his supporters ahead of the election. In Guyana, there are major |
| 1:24.8 | concerns about what could happen if Maduro wins again. |
| 1:29.0 | We looked at the dispute back on December 7, 23, after a referendum in Venezuela. |
| 1:35.7 | All dates and references are from that time. |
| 1:50.3 | Orrin Gordon, considered Oren Gordon considers Aseqibo to be a paradise. |
| 1:57.2 | What's special about Azequibo is its green, unspoiled beauty. |
| 2:05.1 | It's on the north coast of South America, in western Guyana, home to dense rainforest and one of the world's largest waterfalls. |
| 2:08.2 | When you're coming into Guyana, you have to fly over the esacrible forest and it is an |
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