Guyana to strengthen its military capability

Last Updated on Thursday, 21 December 2023, 17:59 by Denis Chabrol

Guyana is planning to boost its defence capability, but Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday said that decision was not linked to most recent threats by Venezuela’s to annex the county of Essequibo.

“We have to spend more on defence, on ensuring that we grow our capability to protect our country,” he told his weekly news conference at ‘Freedom House’, the headquarters of his People’s Progressive Party (PPP).

Mr Jagdeo said Guyana’s President, Irfaan Ali and his delegation, in recent talks in St Vincent, rubbished claims by Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro to Caribbean leaders that Guyana was planning to attack his country. The Vice President said the Guyanese delegation made it clear that Guyana had no plan to do so but would pursue in defence cooperation with its allies to defend itself while strengthening its own capacity. “We will have to increase our investment in the military, but our investments are of a purely defensive nature and we had long planned this and we have already started implementing this,” he said.

Cited, as an example, when Guyana realised that it was losing US$100 million annually in illegal fishing in Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone, the country acquired radar and interceptor capabilities to protect and exercise sovereignty over that area and its 83,000 square miles. “That process will continue but, as I said, before is not to attack Venezuela or anyone else; it’s purely in a defensive capacity,” he added.

The disclosure that steps were being taken to boost the military capacity of the GDF came after President Ali, Vice President Jagdeo and GDF Chief-0f-Staff Brigadier Omar Khan met with former Retired Four Star US General Wesley K. Clark at State House ion December 19.l. Mr Jagdeo said no “formal” decision has been taken to hire him. “We had a good meeting with General Clark. There has been no formal decision as to whether he will be hired or not but he is a solid person,” Mr Jagdeo said, noting that he was head of the United States Southern Command and ex NATO Commander.

The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Coast Guard is being equipped with a brand new modern Offshore Patrol Vessel for deployment to its EEZ.  However, that force does not have military grade aircraft and its other marine vessels for nearshore and inland patrols. Its Korean-made medium range artillery dates back to the 1970s and 1980s, with most of them declared inoperable.