–Vice President Jagdeo emphasises; says Guyana will not let its guard down with Venezuela given Bolivarian Republic’s unpredictable actions
RESPONDING to the smokescreen of propaganda and false narratives being put forward by the Nicolas Maduro administration in Venezuela, Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, firmly said that Guyana will not let its guard down and will continue to enhance its defence cooperation.

In an interview with the News Room, on Monday, Dr. Jagdeo highlighted the duplicitous nature of the Venezuelan government and the Spanish-speaking country’s referendum that was held on December 3.
While the Venezuelan government has claimed that it will not invade Guyana, Dr. Jagdeo reflected on the recent chain of events emerging from the country that have been in contradiction of their utterances.

Jagdeo said: “The leadership in Guyana cannot just take assurances from the Maduro government, that they will not invade the country, even if that is so, we have to prepare for any eventualities. And we must not let our guard down…. We have to be very vigilant in this upcoming period because the Venezuelan leadership has shown itself to be very unpredictable.”

The Vice President did not mince his words when he said that because of the unpredictable nature of Venezuela, Guyana has been working with its allies to ensure defence cooperation is enhanced, in order to protect its territorial sovereignty.
Dr. Jagdeo affirmed: “…should the worst outcome happen…we can defend our country by all means necessary.”

He also reiterated that Guyana is a peaceful country but: “That doesn’t mean should they [Venezuela] defy the International Court of Justice or the consensus in the world, that we will just sit down and accept it.”

HAVE NO FEAR
The Vice President also urged Guyanese to not fall prey to Venezuela’s attempts to instill fear into the population.
He was referring to the misleading video circulating on social media, depicting the hoisting of a Venezuelan flag, purportedly replacing the Golden Arrowhead along Guyana’s western border in Essequibo.

This Guyana Defence Force (GDF), in a statement, debunked the false image painted by the Maduro administration.
In situations like these, the Vice President said: “Don’t get caught up in this incessant almost traumatic experience of worrying unnecessarily and sharing things that may not be the truth.”
Despite Venezuela’s intimidation tactics, Dr. Jagdeo said that transformation is still ongoing in every corner of Guyana, and the nation has the right to develop its natural resources.

He said: “We have not changed or slackened the pace in any of our development programmes.”
Guyana’s confidence and commitment to the Rule of Law and development of its people remain intact despite Venezuela’s malicious referendum on Guyana’s Essequibo.
“We’ve seen the Maduro government proclaim victory after the referendum. I believe that the consequences are disastrous.

The outcome is disastrous for Maduro. We knew that once the referendum went ahead that they will succeed in getting a yes vote,” he said, adding that the false claim by the Spanish-speaking country was implanted into their population.
Highlighting the fact that many Venezuelans are not even siding with Maduro, Dr. Jagdeo reflected on the Spanish-speaking country’s opposition parties questioning the referendum.

He then touched on Maduro’s claim that there was a 50 per cent eligible voter turnout: “We know that that figure is a rigged figure” while highlighting the Latin American press, among other entities revealed the sham.
Owing to the low voter turnout and Maduro’s misleading nature, Dr. Jagdeo said it is clear that the Venezuelan President rigged the election and is hiding his major defeat.

Asserting that Venezuela will not succeed in its efforts, the Vice-President said: “We believe [that] we have a strong case. Venezuela will have a very hard time proving the 1899 Arbitral award was flawed, and we believe that we [will] have [an] entirely positive ruling once the substantive matter is concluded.”

ICJ RULING
Despite regional and international pleas for the Venezuelan administration to abide by international law, the Spanish-speaking country defied these calls and went full speed ahead with its full referendum.
The ICJ, last Friday, granted Guyana provisional measures to prevent any action by Venezuela that could lead to the annexation of Guyana’s territory.

The decision was handed down by the President of the ICJ, Justice Joan E. Donoghue, at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands.
The court ordered that pending the decision of the substantive case, Venezuela shall refrain from taking any action that would modify the situation that currently prevails with the territory, whereby Guyana administers and exercises control over the Essequibo.
As an additional measure, the court also ordered that “both parties refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the court or make it more difficult to resolve.”