Dear Editor,
GHK Lall speaks with a forked tongue, in Stabroek News when he says “I may not be of or for the PPP, but the words of President Maduro struck a sharp chord…there is Guyana’s enemy. There is the man and his company who want to wrestle from us the greatest part of our inheritance. Therefore, he should be Bharrat Jagdeo’s enemy and target for any verbal fusillades that he has in mind.”

GHK waxes patriotic lyrics in urging robust defence of Guyana’s territory and pride, but, on the same day, writing his daily column in Kaieteur News, GHK goes overboard with encouragement and advice to Maduro on how to possibly capture and hold the Essequibo! Unbelievable!
GHK begins: “I put myself in Senor Maduro’s shoes; …First, all comparisons favour Venezuela, and unquestionably so. Manpower. Money. Military. Means. All are there to Guyana’s huge disadvantage”.

GHK continues: “Second, the international community is sure to be adversarial, but the bell would have already been rung, the deed done… All of this takes time to unravel, and chaos keeps company in the ensuing unsettled circumstances.”
GHK is not done, he further urges Maduro: “All things considered, it may have been concluded by him [Maduro] that it is better to seize the moment, and deliver what has eluded all other Venezuelan leaders for many lifetimes… In other words, take a chance, and deal with the consequences later.”

I believe GHK’s column has moved into the territory of betrayal, treason, and collaboration; but before exploring handcuffs, Guyanese would do well to understand, that we are not quite the pushover GHK Lall thinks we are, nor, are his premises correct; allow me to elaborate.

In 1982, Venezuela became belligerent on the border controversy, they were at that time, swimming in oil money and prosperity, but the CIA report on their military capability, however, was revealing: “Plans to improve the military in the East will encounter major maintenance and logistical problems. Even with a large portion of the military budget allocated to maintenance, Venezuela is hard-pressed to keep its equipment functioning. High-ranking officers acknowledge that the army could sustain operations outside of the country for only a few days, not weeks. These problems suggest that a sustained operation outside of Venezuela by a large force would be extremely difficult at present.”

CIA Report: Implications of the Falklands conflict on territorial disputes in Latin America, Annex-3. (https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP85T00176R001300020043-4.pdf) Fast-forward to 2023, Venezuela is a failed state, its economy in ruins, its population migrating to all points of the compass, its military leaders operate fiefdoms; engaged in businesses such as the narco-trade, human trafficking, and, running the oil refineries.

To get the generals moving, Maduro has to do more than give an order, he has to provide financial incentives and we know the cupboard is bare. Venezuela’s major military equipment (what’s left) is kept moving by cannibalization, the F-16s have long been grounded and the submarines no longer float or dive; they wallow in their berths. GHK Lall’s fantasy of Venezuela’s great military prowess is proof that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

Guyana has also experienced a drastic change in fortune and circumstance from the days when Burnham pushed his “Defence Bonds” onto a Heavily Indebted Poor Country with no useful allegiances.
Today, Guyana is the one swimming to the top of the oil-rich. It is consequently inundated with friends and allies; shared interests make for shared beds. Guyana has a small, well-trained army that will be fighting (if needed) on equalizing terrain; it is reminiscent of conditions of the Battle of Thermopylae.

GHK Lall may quiver at the thought of a Maduro invasion, but the rest of us are working to make sure our enemies, inside and out, including Maduro, understand clearly it would be a costly misadventure; Molon Labe, Senor…
Sincerely,
Robin Singh