US welcomes Guyana, Suriname’s support for joint statement on Venezuela; disappointed with other CARICOM nations

Last Updated on Thursday, 22 August 2024, 8:38 by Writer

The United States (US) is disappointed that only two Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states endorsed a joint statement calling for democracy in Venezuela, but welcomes Guyana and Suriname’s support. 

“We were extremely pleased that the governments of Guyana and Suriname signed on to that statement. It’s incredibly important to us that we are all together in defending democracy in this region and globally and it meant a lot to us to have those partners in the region…”, US Ambassador to Guyana and CARICOM, Nicole Theriot said when asked by Demerara Waves Online News.

In particular, she hailed Guyana’s decision to ink the statement that was issued on August 16 by 22 countries that met in Santo Domingo de Guzmán, the capital of the Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic. “Especially, Guyana, becoming a global leader it meant so much to have Guyana on that statement and we’re very, very grateful. We hope that it will have an impact on President Maduro and his administration moving forward,” the American envoy said.

That joint statement on Venezuela calls for the immediate publication of all original records and the impartial and independent verification of Venezuela’s July 28 election results, preferably by an international entity, to ensure respect for the will of Venezuelans as expressed at the polls.

Guyana’s Foreign Secretary, Robert Persaud, in re-posting the statement on his Facebook page, remarked that “Democracy will triumph, and those states, including Caribbean leftists which seek to justify rigging, must decide which side of history they want to be on.” The left-leaning independent members of the sub-regional Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) – Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines – had issued a joint statement in support of the re-election of President Nicolás Maduro. “We congratulate President Nicolás Maduro Moros, on his victory and re-election to the Presidency of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela for a third term and urge that every effort be made towards national reconciliation.”

The American Ambassador says the US is disappointed that the other CARICOM member states did not support the statement. “That’s actually disappointing. You know, for us, it seems very clear that to support democracy, certain things need to be done with regard to the election and if those other countries chose not to sign on, that’s their right but we’re quite disappointed,” she said. 

The 22 signatory nations to the joint statement called for the respect for human rights, and the immediate release of persons, including opposition representatives, who have been arbitrarily detained.

Guyana and Suriname, with significant oil and gas reserves, are now hotbeds for major American companies. Guyana has over the past few years intensified its defence and security cooperation with the US in pushing back against Venezuela’s aggression over the Essequibo Region.