President Irfaan Ali on Monday confirmed that Guyana’s security forces are “on full alert” following a recent incident of Venezuelan aggression at the border.
Speaking to reporters after casting his ballot at the Leonora Technical and Vocational Institute, Ali said, “The security forces are on full alert. They have their strength and they’re ready. They have the equipment.”
Guyana’s security forces came under fire from across the Venezuelan border on Sunday while escorting election officials and ballot boxes along the Upper Cuyuni River in Region 7, the country’s Joint Services said. The patrol, comprising ranks of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and Guyana Police Force (GPF), returned fire and maneuvered out of danger. No one was injured and no election materials were damaged, according to the Joint Services statement. Nine officials from the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) were aboard the vessels at the time.
Ali stressed that Venezuela continues to pose a danger, noting, “We have to understand the threat of Venezuela. We’ve been speaking about this throughout the campaign, that Venezuela is a threat, and we have to look at every single connection to that threat.”
Ali assured that the GDF is better prepared to respond to any incursion. He said, “The Guyana Defence Force has beefed up… they are in a better position. You’ve invested a lot, as you know, in the military, so I’m confident with what they have on our borders and the systems they have in place.”
He stated that Guyana will safeguard its sovereignty and work with regional and international partners to confront wider security challenges. “We support democracy. We will support anything to eliminate any threat to our security in terms of not only our sovereignty… but also we live in a region that all of us must come together to fight transnational crime, to fight illicit drug trade, and we will support every effort to smash the illicit drug trade and transnational crime,” Ali said.
Even as he reaffirmed Guyana’s defensive posture, the President emphasized the country’s long-standing diplomatic stance: “We have always said consistently that this region must remain a zone of peace, and we will do everything to ensure that this region remains a zone of peace.”
