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Guyana remains vigilant, secure in face of political upheaval in Venezuela – Prime Minister
(Kaieteur News) – Guyana has strengthened its border defences following recent political developments in neighbouring Venezuela, Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips has noted.
Prime Minister Phillips said security forces, along with regional authorities, have intensified monitoring along the nation’s western border.
PM Phillips, along with senior GDF and GPF members, during his visit to Region One.
He said troops of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) are permanently deployed along Guyana’s borders with Venezuela, Suriname, and Brazil. However, following the political upheaval on January 3, “immediately, we went into a more heightened state of readiness. In fact, I would argue that the troops…were already in a heightened state of readiness,” he said in an online podcast Sunday.
Addressing possible ‘spillover effects,’ PM Phillips said he travelled to Region One and met with members of the defence board, regional officials, law enforcement, and residents.
He noted that community members were already well informed due to improved internet connectivity in hinterland regions.
While authorities have not observed any unusual activity along the Guyana-Venezuela border, movement across the frontier has remained consistent, which the prime minister said is routine activity.
“We will not fall into any false sense of security,” he said, stating that the government “will continue to observe and ensure that any instability on the other side of the border does not spill over into Guyana.”
PM Phillips said Guyana’s priority remains safeguarding its territorial integrity and ensuring every citizen living in the border region continues to feel secure.
He also addressed regional responses to the situation in Venezuela, noting that while CARICOM member states may express differing positions, each country must ultimately act in accordance with its own national interests.
PM Phillips, along with senior GDF and GPF members, during his visit to Region One.
“Whatever pronouncements are made by our president, I totally agree with them because they are balanced and it is in keeping with Guyana’s national interests,” the prime minister affirmed.
The Trump administration launched attacks on the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, in the early hours of Saturday, January 3, after months-long pressure campaign against the Nicolas Maduro government. The surprise pre-dawn attack saw US forces capture and depose the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores.
That campaign included US seizures of oil tankers off the Venezuelan coast, as well as deadly attacks on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean that were widely denounced as extrajudicial killings.
Washington had accused the Venezuelan leader, who has been in power since 2013, of having ties to drug cartels – a claim rejected by Maduro, who said the US was working to depose him and take control of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
Maduro has since pleaded not guilty to four criminal counts: narco-terrorism, cocaine importation conspiracy and possession of machine guns and destructive devices in a New York federal court.
Venezuela and Guyana has had a longstanding border controversy triggered by the Venezuelan contention that the Arbitral Award of 1899 about the frontier between British Guiana and Venezuela is null and void. (modified from DPI)
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