Maduro proposes bill to declare Venezuelan province in region disputed with Guyana

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday proposed a bill to declare a Venezuelan province in an oil-rich region it disputes with Guyana, and ordered the state oil company to issue licenses for extracting crude there.

The Venezuelan leader proposed at a government meeting that a bill be sent to the National Assembly for the creation of a Guyana Esequiba province in the region Guyana has administered for over a century, and said oil, gas and mining licenses must be issued immediately.