Guyana–Venezuela territorial dispute in the context of "Geneva Agreement (1966)"

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is a federation made up of twenty-three states (Spanish: estados), a Capital District (Spanish: Distrito Capital) and the Federal Dependencies (Spanish: Dependencias Federales), which consist of many islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. Venezuela claims the disputed Essequibo territory as one of its states, which it calls Guayana Esequiba, but the territory is controlled by Guyana as part of six of its regions.

The states and territories of Venezuela are usually organized into regions (Spanish: regiones), although these regions are mostly geographical entities rather than administrative entities.

Gran Colombia (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈɡɾaŋ koˈlombja] , "Great Colombia"), also known as Greater Colombia and officially the Republic of Colombia (Spanish: República de Colombia), was a state that encompassed much of northern South America and parts of Central America from 1819 to 1831. It included present-day Colombia, mainland Ecuador (i.e. excluding the Galápagos Islands), Panama, and Venezuela, parts of northern Peru, northwestern Brazil, and claimed the Essequibo region. The terms Gran Colombia and Greater Colombia are used historiographically to distinguish it from the current Republic of Colombia, which is also the official name of the former state.

International recognition of the legitimacy of the Gran Colombian state ran afoul of European opposition to the independence of states in the Americas. Austria, France, and The Russian Empire only recognized independence in the Americas if the new states accepted monarchs from European Royal Houses. In addition, Colombia and the international powers disagreed over the extension of the Colombian territory and its boundaries.

Venezuela is a country in South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, between Colombia and Guyana. It is situated on major sea and air routes linking North and South America. Located at the northernmost end of South America, Venezuela has a total area of 912,050 km (352,140 sq mi) and a land area of 882,050 km (340,560 sq mi). It is the 32nd largest country and is slightly smaller than Egypt, or half the size of Mexico. Shaped roughly like an inverted triangle, the country has a 2,800 km (1,700 mi) long coastline.

It is bound on the north by the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, on the east by Guyana, on the south by Brazil, and on the west by Colombia. It has the 55th largest Exclusive Economic Zone of 471,507 km (182,050 sq mi). Its maritime territory borders Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States. The Guyana–Venezuela territorial dispute has continued since the nineteenth century, with Venezuelan claiming a territory it calls "Guayana Esequiba", which is currently controlled by Guyana.

The Cuyuní River is a South American river and a tributary of the Essequibo River.

The Cuyuní River marks a border in the Guyana–Venezuela territorial dispute for approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi).