Venezuela Rejects ICJ Jurisdiction at First-Round Essequibo Oral Hearings in The Hague

On May 6, 2026, Venezuela's agent Samuel Moncada presented the country's first-round arguments at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, rejecting the court's authority to adjudicate the century-old Essequibo territorial dispute with Guyana. Speaking during a six-hour hearing before the 15-judge panel, Moncada argued that Venezuela 'never consented' to submit territorial questions to the ICJ, invoking the 1966 Geneva Agreement as the only binding framework. Venezuela's attorney Professor Makane Moïse Mbengue warned that even a ruling in Guyana's favor would not change Venezuela's position on the 160,000 km² region. Moncada wore a lapel pin depicting Venezuela's map including the Essequibo and described the country's historical rights over the territory as 'irrenunciables' (irrevocable). Venezuela accused Guyana of 'deliberately misleading' the court and linked Guyana's 2018 ICJ filing directly to ExxonMobil's massive 2015 offshore oil discoveries adjacent to the disputed region. The hearings were held as part of the case Guyana v. Venezuela (Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899), which Guyana filed to affirm the validity of the 1899 Paris Award that established the current boundary.