Guyana remains on guard against spillover at border with Venezuela – PM

Following the United States (US) capture of Venezuela’s leader, Nicolás Maduro and his wife, earlier this month, security forces at singular borders with the Spanish-speaking nation have heightened their surveillance, and while there have not been any unusual activities, they are not letting their guard down. “To date, we have not seen – thankfully – we have not seen anything unusual. It’s just, what we consider the routine activities of people on the frontier. But we will not fall into any false sense of security [in] believing that everything is back to normal,” Prime Minister (PM), Brigadier Ret’d Mark Phillips said during an appearance on the Starting Point podcast which was streamed on Sunday.

An early morning operation on January 3 saw US troops removing the Venezuelan dictator and his wife Cilia Flores from their home on a military base in downtown Caracas and transporting them to New York, where they were subsequently arraigned on narcotics charges. On the morning of the strikes, PM Phillips had joined President Dr Irfaan Ali for an emergency meeting of the Defence Board. Following that high-level meeting, the PM travelled to Region One (Barima-Waini) to engage the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) troops and ranks of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) stationed in communities along the border with Venezuela as part of the Government’s immediate response.

For decades, the Spanish-speaking nation has deployed a number of aggressive tactics against Guyana, including as recent as last year, as it continues to lay spurious claims to more than two-thirds of Guyana’s landmass – the entire Essequibo region and a portion of the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), where successful oil operations are ongoing offshore by US-based oil giant, ExxonMobil and its partners. PM Phillips’ visit to Region One formed part of a series of routine leadership engagements led by the GDF across border locations and military bases nationwide – something that the army is still continuing.

During his appearance on the podcast, the PM, a former Army Chief, was asked about situation on the ground during his visit. “Immediately, we went into a more heightened state of readiness. In fact, I would argue that the troops, they were already in a heightened state of readiness. So, it was just a matter of sensitising them to what happened in Venezuela, and for them to be extra vigilant, and not only for the troops and the police, but the wider community. We met with the Regional Administration, because they have an important role in terms of intelligence, in terms of security of the region,” he stated. The PM had also engaged residents in some of the border communities.

While citizens there were largely abreast with the developments in the neighbouring country, Phillips said he impressed on both the residents and the Regional Administration the importance of remaining sensitive to what could likely happen on the frontiers.

“We will continue to observe, we’ll continue to focus on ensuring that any instability or any untoward acts on the other side of the border don’t spill over to our side. Because at the end of the day, we have to define aggression on the border, we have to defend our border, and we have to ensure that the people who live on our side enjoy and accept the level of security away from any acts of instability that is likely to occur on the other side,” PM Phillips asserted. Meanwhile, following the US strikes and capture of the Venezuelan leader, President Donald Trump says the US will run the Spanish-speaking nation until a proper transition can take place in Caracas. This development had sparked concerns of an expansionism plan by the North American powerhouse.

With Guyana and Venezuela currently embroiled in a decades-old border controversy, President Ali was recently asked whether he is worried that the US, a long-standing ally of Georgetown and Guyana’s sovereignty, could potentially ask for an amicable settlement of the matter – something which the Guyanese leader shut down. “My priority is the safety and security of the Guyanese people, and on the integrity of our borders, our territorial integrity and our sovereignty. And nothing in that relation will ever be compromised,” President Ali declared to reporters during an interview on the sidelines of an event on January 10.

According to the Head of State, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces in Guyana, “…our allies and development partners are with us on that.”

President Ali in fact, had a telephone engagement with US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, on January 6 to discuss the developments in Venezuela. A statement following the phone meeting detailed that, “President Ali welcomed Secretary Rubio’s reaffirmation of the US continued support for and partnership with Guyana in defence of our sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Currently, there is a case pending before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that was filed by Guyana, seeking a final and binding settlement of the 1899 Arbitral Award which demarcates the boundaries with Venezuela. One of Guyana’s Agent in the World Court case, Carl Greenidge, believes that the latest developments in Venezuela could see a reduction in military aggression against Guyana. “The change in the relationship between Venezuela and the US in the immediate future is likely to put on hold Venezuela’s military ambitions towards Guyana because I don’t think they’ll be in a position to realise that,” Greenidge, a former Foreign Affairs Minister, recently told local news agency OilNOW.