Guyana balances peaceful Caribbean with battling transnational crimes

Last Updated on Wednesday, 15 October 2025, 22:42 by Writer

A day after the United States (U.S.) military deployment in international Caribbean waters destroyed a fifth suspected drug boat and killed six men off the coast of Venezuela, President Irfaan Ali on Wednesday vowed to back any action against the narcotics trade.

“Guyana support the aspiration of keeping Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace, but equally also, we support every action and embrace every partnership to cripple transnational crime, the illicit drug trade and any form of destabilisation that threatens the security of Guyana and this region,” he said.

Dr Ali did not refer directly to the U.S. military deployment to the southern Caribbean or the blowing up of alleged drug-laden boats and their occupants that the Trump administration says is fetching poison to American shores.

The Guyanese leader said his country rejects all forms of aggression and any attempt to impose solutions through coercion. While touting peace, dialogue and international law as the means by which nations in the Western Hemisphere interact, he said Guyana was backing steps to tackle those scourges. “We are not oblivious to the reality, the reality that our region faces both traditional and non-traditional threats. Our support for efforts to combat these crimes is therefore unwavering, resolute and steady,” he said.

The President also said Guyana would defend its itself against territorial aggression with international help because Guyana would not compromise its sovereignty. “Our territorial space will remain a space we will defend and we will defend it with our partners. We’ll defend it with our allies. We’ll defend it with those who stand on the side of freedom, sovereignty, democracy and the rule of law,” he said.

Dr Ali also reiterated his government’s condemnation of the attack on Guyanese civilians and soldiers who use the bordering Cuyuni River,” he said. Gunmen in neighbouring Venezuela had earlier this year shot at Guyanese soldiers, police and civilians who were travelling in boats.

Dr Ali said Guyana’s sovereignty and peace extends beyond its borders, and so while we defend our territory and uphold the rule of law at home, we also champion these same principles in the wider region, advocating for a Caribbean and Latin America free from threats of any sort.”

The 33-member Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), which includes Guyana and Venezuela as well as several CARICOM member states that are Venezuelan allies, are calling for Latin America and the Caribbean to be a zone of peace.

Sister CARICOM member state, Trinidad and Tobago, has openly backed the U.S.’ war on narco-trafficking in the Caribbean, saying it was contributing to a decline in rampant violent crime in her twin-island nation.