US helping Guyana to “defend its territorial integrity” – US Deputy National Security Advisor

Last Updated on Sunday, 4 February 2024, 22:00 by Denis Chabrol

The United States on Sunday reaffirmed military support for Guyana against Venezuela’s lingering threat to take control of the Essequibo Region.

US Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer, who was in Guyana for a brief visit, said the two countries were “deepening our defence cooperation” to assist Guyana in preserving its borders. “That cooperation is fundamentally defensive in nature and grounded in our desire for Guyana to be able to defend its territorial integrity against any possible threats to that and so that is a big part of the relationship we’re trying to build with Guyana,” he told Demerara Waves Online News.

Mr Finer said that was part of discussions on Sunday with Guyanese officials.

The US army has in recent weeks stepped up its work here which has so far included joint flight operations in Guyana in collaboration with the GDF;  jointly assessed the GDF’s military communications network and discussed emerging threats in the cyber and 5G domains, and assist the GDF in monitoring this South American nation’s airspace to preserve its sovereignty

The Deputy National Security Advisor was questioned about whether Washington was preparing militarily for Venezuela’s possible rejection of a decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the border case and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s resort to armed conflict. That was especially since the Venezuelan leader has not publicly withdrawn threats against foreign concession holders and to explore for oil, gas, and gold in Guyana’s Essequibo Region which is also named as a Venezuelan military zone.

Mr Finer also reiterated that Washington respects the 1899 Arbitral Tribunal Award that settled the land boundary between the two neighbouring South American nations. “We stand firmly for Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and that we do no think that it is appropriate for countries to make threats or to contemplate publicly the use of force against another country so we’re going t0 continue to stand by those principles,” he said.

Though a peace pact, clinched on December 14, 2023 in St Vincent by President Maduro and Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali, has calmed tensions between the two countries, the document does not rescind the Venezuelan government’s decisions concerning the Essequibo Region after the December 3, 2023 referendum.

Despite widespread views that the referendum was a sham because of the extremely poor turnout, the Maduro administration went ahead and included Essequibo in Venezuela’s map. The international community only recognises Guyana’s boundary in keeping with the 1899 Arbitral Tribunal Award.

The Office of the President said President li met with the US Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer and the National Security Council Senior Director for the Western Hemisphere Juan González Sunday afternoon at State House in Georgetown.

“Issues of democratic governance, economic stability, and regional security and other pressing hemispheric matters were discussed,” the President said in a statement on his Facebook page.  Discussions focused on areas of mutual interest between Guyana, CARICOM and the United States.

US Ambassador Nicole Theriot; Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, Mark Wells and National Security Council Senior Advisor Laura Updegrove were among the US officials present.

President Ali was joined by Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud; GDF Chief of Staff, Brigadier Omar Khan; National Security Advisor Gerry Gouveia, GDF Colonel Sheldon Howell and Retired Brigadier Godfrey Bess.