Venezuela interim president arrives in Netherlands for Esequibo region hearing

By Leila Miller

BUENOS AIRES, May 10 (Reuters) – Venezuela interim president Delcy Rodriguez has arrived in the Netherlands for a hearing at the International Court of Justice over the Esequibo region, according to a press release from the presidential office.

Rodriguez will lead a Venezuela team that will participate in a hearing on Monday at the principal judicial organ of the United Nations on a century-old dispute between Venezuela and its neighbor Guyana centered around a region that is rich in oil, the press release said.

Guyana brought the ⁠dispute to the court in 2018.

A final judgment in the case is months away. Rulings are binding and without ⁠appeal, ​but the court has no way to enforce them ​itself, instead relying on the U.N. Security Council.

This is Rodriguez’s first trip to Europe since she took power after the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a military operation in January.

Rodriguez previously faced a travel ban from the European Union, which accused her and other officials of undermining democracy in Venezuela.

(Reporting by Leila Miller; Additional reporting by Stephanie van den Berg; Editing by Andrea Ricci)