THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Guyana told the United Nations’ highest court on Monday that 70% of its territory is at stake in a historic border dispute with Venezuela over a swath of jungle that is rich in resources.
The International Court of Justice is holding a week of hearings between the South American neighbors claiming ownership of the Essequibo region, which is rich in gold, diamonds, timber and other natural resources and is located close to massive offshore oil deposits.
“This has been a blight on our existence as a sovereign state from the very beginning,” Guyana Foreign Minister Hugh Hilton Todd told judges at the Great Hall of Justice in The Hague.
An 1899 decision by arbitrators from Britain, Russia and the United States drew the border along the Essequibo River largely in favor of Guyana. The U.S. represented Venezuela in part because the Venezuelan government had broken off diplomatic relations with Britain. Venezuela contends the Americans and Europeans conspired to cheat their country out of the land.
Venezuela has considered Essequibo its own since the Spanish colonial period when the region was within its boundaries. The country argues a 1966 agreement to resolve the dispute effectively nullified the 19th-century arbitration.
After years of fruitless mediation, Guyana in 2018 asked ICJ judges to affirm the 1899 border decision.
Pierre d’Argent, a member of Guyana's legal team, called Venezuela's arguments “lengthy, pointlessly controversial and confusing” and told judges they “are not new in any way and have already been rejected by the court.”
The two nations have returned to the court multiple times. Venezuela challenged the ICJ’s jurisdiction by claiming it could not hear the case without the United Kingdom, which was Guyana’s colonial master at the time of the original border decision. The court in 2020 ruled it had jurisdiction, enabling the case to proceed to this week's hearings.
The court ordered Venezuela in 2025 to refrain from holding elections for officials who supposedly would oversee the region.
Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez wore a pin in the shape of the Essequibo region during recent state visits to the Caribbean islands of Grenada and Barbados.
Rodríguez was on her first official overseas trip following the capture of Nicolás Maduro by the U.S. in early January. The pin also has been increasingly worn by Venezuelan government officials, state television anchors, lawmakers and ruling party members since Maduro was removed from power in a stunning nighttime raid in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital.
The weeklong proceedings will continue on Wednesday with opening statements by Venezuela.
Mike Corder contributed to this report.
FILE - The Essequibo River flows through Kurupukari crossing in Guyana, Nov. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Juan Pablo Arraez, File)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. military’s Central Command says two American-flagged merchant ships have “successfully transited through the Strait of Hormuz.”
It said Monday that Navy guided-missile destroyers in the Persian Gulf are helping to restore commercial shipping traffic.
The statement on X said the destroyers transited the Strait of Hormuz “in support of Project Freedom” and that the merchant ships are ” safely headed on their journey.” It did not say when the Navy ships arrived or when the merchant vessels departed.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. military on Monday denied claims that Iran struck a Navy vessel as U.S. forces now offer to guide commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, where hundreds have been stuck since the Iran war began. Tehran over the past two months has attacked some vessels and blocked others that don’t receive its authorization.
Iranian news agencies, including the semiofficial Fars and the Iranian Labour News Agency, claimed that Iran struck a U.S. vessel near an Iranian port southeast of the strait, accusing it of “violating maritime security and navigation norms.” The reports said the vessel was forced to turn back.
The U.S. Central Command said on social media that “no U.S. Navy ships have been struck.”
The U.S. military has said the new initiative, announced by President Donald Trump on Sunday, might involve guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 aircraft and 15,000 service members but has not specified what kind of assistance it would provide. The U.S.-led Joint Maritime Information Center has advised ships to cross the strait in Oman’s waters, saying it set up an “enhanced security area.”
It was unclear whether any vessels were attempting to cross the strait, or whether shipping companies, and their insurers, will feel comfortable taking the risk given that Iran has fired on ships in the waterway and vowed to keep doing so.
Iran has responded to the new U.S. effort by calling it a violation of the fragile ceasefire that has held for more than three weeks.
Iran’s control of traffic through the crucial artery for a significant amount of the world’s oil and gas supplies has proved a strategic advantage in its war with the U.S. and Israel, allowing Tehran to inflict tremendous pain on the global economy despite being outgunned on the battlefield.
Trump's announcement that the U.S. would “guide” ships out of the strait warned that Iranian efforts to block them "will, unfortunately, have to be dealt with forcefully.”
He described “Project Freedom” in humanitarian terms, designed to aid stranded seafarers, many on oil tankers or cargo ships, who have been stuck in the Persian Gulf since the war began. Crews have described to The Associated Press seeing drones and missiles explode over the waters as their vessels run low on drinking water, food and other supplies.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency called “Project Freedom” part of Trump's “delirium."
Iran’s military command on Monday said ships passing must coordinate with them.
“We warn that any foreign military force — especially the aggressive U.S. military — that intends to approach or enter the Strait of Hormuz will be targeted,” Maj. Gen. Pilot Ali Abdollahi told state broadcaster IRIB.
The Joint Maritime Information Center urged mariners to coordinate closely with Omani authorities “due to anticipated high traffic volume.” It warned that passing close to usual routes, known as the traffic separation scheme, “should be considered extremely hazardous due to the presence of mines that have not been fully surveyed and mitigated.”
But the head of security for the Baltic and International Maritime Council, a leading shipping trade group, said no formal guidance or details about the U.S. effort had been issued to the industry. Jakob Larsen questioned whether the effort was sustainable in the long run or envisioned as a more limited operation, and said there is a “risk of hostilities breaking out again” if it goes ahead.
And the United Arab Emirates on Monday accused Iran of targeting a tanker linked to its main oil company with two drones as it passed through the strait. It did not say when the attack took place. No injuries were reported.
The disruption of the waterway has squeezed countries in Europe and Asia that depend on Persian Gulf oil and gas, raising prices far beyond the region.
Trump has promised to bring down gas prices as he faces midterm elections this year.
The U.S. has warned shipping companies they could face sanctions for paying Iran for transit of the strait. It has enacted a naval blockade on Iranian ports since April 13, telling 49 commercial ships to turn back, U.S. Central Command said Sunday.
The blockade has deprived Tehran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy.
U.S. officials have expressed hope that the blockade forces Iran back to the negotiation table.
“We think that they’ve gotten less than $1.3 million in tolls, which is a pittance on their previous daily oil revenues,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News on Sunday, adding that Iran’s oil storage is rapidly filling up and “they’re going to have to start shutting in wells, which we think could be in the next week.”
Iran’s latest 14-point proposal for ending the war, made public over the weekend, calls for the U.S. lifting sanctions, ending the U.S. naval blockade, withdrawing forces from the region and ceasing all hostilities, including Israel’s operations in Lebanon, according to the semiofficial Nour News and Tasnim agencies, which have close ties to Iran’s security organizations.
Iranian officials said they were reviewing the U.S. response, though Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters on Monday that changing demands, which he did not detail, made diplomacy difficult.
Iran has claimed its proposal does not include issues related to its nuclear program and enriched uranium — long a driving force in tensions with the U.S. and Israel.
Iran’s proposal wants other issues resolved within 30 days and aims to end the war rather than extend the ceasefire. Trump on Saturday said he was reviewing the proposal but expressed doubt it would lead to a deal.
Pakistan said Monday it has facilitated the transfer of 22 crew members from an Iranian vessel seized earlier by the U.S., describing the move as a confidence-building measure as Islamabad attempts to revive talks. Pakistan hosted face-to-face talks last month.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said the crew members, who had been aboard the Iranian container ship MV Touska, were flown to Pakistan overnight. They were expected to be handed over to Iranian authorities.
The vessel will be brought into Pakistani territorial waters for necessary repairs before being returned to its original owners, the ministry said, adding that the process is being coordinated with the support of Iran and the U.S.
Metz reported from Ramallah, West Bank. Munir Ahmed contributed from Islamabad, Pakistan.
A bulk cargo ship sits at anchor in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Saturday, May 2, 2026.(Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)
A patrol boat moves through the water as cargo ships sit at anchor in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Saturday, May 2, 2026.(Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)
An Iranian tugboat floats in the foreground as cargo ships sit at anchor in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, May 4, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)
A container ship sits at anchor as a small motorboat passes in the foreground in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)
People view rugs at the Grand Bazaar in Tehran, Sunday, May 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A woman looks at jewelry in the window of a gold shop at Tehran's historic Grand Bazaar, Iran, Sunday, May 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A man stands in the water, appearing to fish, as bulk carriers, cargo ships, and service vessels line the horizon in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, April 27, 2026.(Razieh Poudat/ISNA via AP)
Vehicles drive past a billboard with graphic showing Strait of Hormuz and sewn lips of U.S. President Donald Trump in a square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Cargo ships are seen at sea near the Strait of Hormuz, as viewed from a rocky shoreline near Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
