President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, greets supporters before giving a speech as the National Electoral Council issued the results of the consultative referendum on Venezuelan sovereignty over the Essequibo, in Caracas on December 3, 2023. Venezuelan electoral authorities on December 3 claimed that 95 percent of voters in a nonbinding referendum approved of the nation's territorial claim on a huge chunk of neighboring oil-rich Guyana.
It is "an evident and overwhelming victory for the 'Yes' in this consultative referendum," said the president of the National Electoral Council, Elvis Amoroso. (Photo by Pedro Rances Mattey / AFP)