Insufficient evidence to label Maduro narco-terrorist – PNCR Leader

Last Updated on Saturday, 13 December 2025, 11:00 by Writer

Leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) and its parliamentary coalition, A Partnership for National National Unity (APNU), Aubrey Norton on Friday said he did not have sufficient evidence to support the United States’ (US) position that Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro is an alleged narco-terrorist.

“I have seen no evidence to help me to arrive at a conclusion and unless we are privy to information that confirms claims, up until then we will take the position of looking after our interest” he told a news conference in response to a question from Demerara Waves Online News.

He indicated that Guyana’s interest is pushing back against Venezuela’s long-standing claim to the 160,000 square mile Essequibo Region and its abutting oil-rich seaspace.

He cautioned against Guyana lending its support carelessly to positions. “I believe that we need to be very careful with who and what we support and when and what we support and any support will only emerge after we have the factual basis to declare one way or the other,” he said.

Mr Norton, a Cuban-trained political scientist, said he could not support anything without evidence to determine whether it is true or not.

He said the PNCR/APNU was guarding against being “embroiled in something” about which it did not have information to substantiate or disagree.

“I’ve listened to academics in the US. Some support it, some against. What I’m still to get from any side is concrete information to inform the decision we should take and so in this present state our task is to pursue our national interest and our national interest is best served at this time by doing the diplomatic work to keep Venezuela at bay and mobilise the support of all who we can get, including the United States, to support us against Venezuela,” he added.

For its part, the US has repeatedly pledged its commitment to support Guyana in safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The US Donald Trump administration has declared Mr Maduro a narco-terrorist and a key figure in Cartel of the Suns, both of which have been sanctioned by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

So far more than 80 persons have been killed by the US military as they were travelling in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific allegedly with cocaine destined for the US.

The US military earlier this week intercepted and seized a large crude tanker with fuel and the Trump administration has since added several more tankers to its sanctions list.

The Trump administration had also warned airlines against flying over Venezuela.

But Mr Norton, also a former foreign service officer and university lecturer in politics and international relations, declined to offer a perspective on what he made of those actions.

“All countries pursue their national interest. The United States probably sees it as their interest. Venezuela perceives it as not in their interest,” said Mr Norton who also studied international relations in the United Kingdom.

The Guyana government, a key US ally in the Caribbean, has broadly stated that it supports all efforts to go after transnational criminals while espousing the Caribbean as a zone of peace.