—President Ali announces, says country working closely with international allies on intelligence
GUYANA has deployed additional security assets along its border with Venezuela following recent attacks on Guyana Defence Force (GDF) patrols along the Cuyuni River, President Dr. Irfaan Ali disclosed on Friday.
Speaking during a press conference at the Office of the President, Dr. Ali said the government has also intensified collaboration with international allies as authorities assess the security situation along the western frontier.
“We have addressed this with our allies. We have addressed this diplomatically with Venezuela, we have addressed this from a national security standpoint,” President Ali told reporters.
He added that Guyana is utilising intelligence support from allied partners to determine whether the attacks form part of a broader pattern or are linked to specific circumstances.
“We’re trying using our intelligence and information from allies to see whether there’s a pattern and whether it was linked to particular circumstances,” the President said.
The move comes amid heightened vigilance along the border as Guyana continues its legal case against Venezuela before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award and the final settlement of the boundary between the two countries.
Earlier this month, a GDF rank was injured after a patrol operation came under fire along the Cuyuni River in Region Seven.
According to the GDF, the incident occurred at approximately 11:30hrs on Monday, May 4, while ranks were escorting three civilian vessels transporting personnel and cargo from Makapa to Eteringbang.
The patrol reportedly came under attack in the vicinity of Black Water, prompting what the army described as a swift response by troops.
The attack follows a similar incident in February last year, when a GDF resupply patrol travelling from Eteringbang to Makapa came under fire from armed men positioned on the Venezuelan side of the Cuyuni River, leaving several soldiers injured and triggering a high-level national security review.
In response to growing security concerns, the government in April launched Guyana’s first district-level Border Patrol Unit (BPU) in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).
The specialised unit was established to strengthen community-based border security and combat transnational crimes such as smuggling, human trafficking and illicit trade along Guyana’s porous borders.
Former Region Four Chairman and Guyana Defence Force Captain, Daniel Seeram, was appointed coordinator of the initiative and reports directly to the President.
“The border patrol unit, of course, is a unit that is working with the community policing group, transferring them to border patrol unit to help us in [these] very things, intelligence sharing, more monitoring, real time information and having capacity infrastructure to support what we’re doing,” President Ali said.
“A lot of work is ongoing… this phase, is about assessment of all different locations that we have different challenges, we have different challenges in different locations, as you will know, and then the strategy will be deploying an efficient system based on those challenges,” he added.
The BPU builds on the work of existing Community Policing Groups (CPGs), with the first phase integrating residents from Rukumutu, Yurong Paru and Tiperu. Officers are equipped with all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) to improve mobility in remote areas and rely heavily on local intelligence gathering.
President Ali stressed on Friday that Guyana remains alert, particularly following the recent conclusion of oral hearings before the ICJ.
“You know we had a case at the ICJ anyhow, so we are very watchful… we are confident about protecting our sovereignty and our borders,” he said.
Guyana has consistently maintained that the controversy with Venezuela must be resolved peacefully through international law and the ICJ process, while Venezuela has continued to challenge the court’s jurisdiction despite participating in aspects of the proceedings.
During the recent hearings in The Hague, Guyana argued that Venezuela’s claim to the Essequibo region poses a threat to the country’s territorial integrity, peace and development.
The ICJ has already issued provisional measures directing Venezuela to refrain from actions that could alter the status quo in the disputed territory while the matter remains before the court.
