PRESIDENT David Granger has asked for Cuba’s backing as Guyana looks to pursue a legal settlement of the decades-old border controversy with Venezuela.Cuba and Venezuela are strong allies, and following a meeting with Cuba’s President Raul Castro yesterday, Mr Granger said he hoped the weight of Cuba could be brought to bear in helping to

resolve the controversy. “We are aware that Cuba is very close to Venezuela, and we would certainly want Cuba to use its influence to exercise a moderating influence on Venezuela, so that we can bring this controversy to an end as quickly as possible,” the President said after his meeting with Castro.
The meeting is among several other bilateral conferences the President is having on the margins of the 70th United Nations General Assembly, and he is using every meeting to make world leaders aware of the controversy. “The Foreign Minister and I will take every opportunity to present Guyana’s interest, and to make sure that this obnoxious claim on our territory is removed, so we can get ahead with our development,” Mr Granger said.
In particular, the President and his team are looking to meet with as many Commonwealth states before the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Malta this November. “Guyana has lost territory to Venezuela, as you know, in the 1899 tribunal award, and we want to get ahead with our development. And we believe that Cuba’s weight in the Caribbean could influence the outcome in ensuring that the Caribbean remains a zone of peace,” the President stated.
On Saturday, the Guyana Defence Force carried out a number of military manoeuvres to define its strength ahead of the country’s 50th anniversary, and to demonstrate its readiness to defend the country’s borders. “There are internal procedures which have to be carried out by the Guyana Defence Force to ensure that it is ready to respond to any threat to Guyana’s territorial integrity,” President Granger said of the exercises.
The military mobilisation and readiness exercises were conducted at all Army bases across Guyana. Addressing troops at Base Camp Stephenson and at the GDF Air Corps, Chief of Staff Brigadier Mark Phillips said: “Be assured, Guyana’s border issue with Venezuela was settled in 1899; we stand prepared and will always remain prepared to defend that border.”