Gunmen attack GDF troops Guyana asks Venezuela to conduct probe, hold perpetrators accountable

…as Foreign Ministry condemns cross-border aggression, to alert international community

The Government of Guyana has officially called on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to launch an immediate investigation into three separate attacks carried out on members of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) between May 13 and 15, 2025.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the incidents occurred along the Cuyuni River between Eteringbang and Makapa, a border region where armed Venezuelan men in civilian clothing reportedly opened fire on GDF troops conducting routine riverine patrols.
In a formal diplomatic note to Venezuela’s Ministry of People’s Power for Foreign Relations, Guyana condemned the acts as serious breaches of international peace, and demanded that the Venezuelan authorities take swift and decisive action to identify, apprehend, and prosecute the perpetrators.
The note also recalled a similar attack that occurred on February 17, 2025, and reiterated Guyana’s longstanding call for Venezuela to prevent such hostile actions originating from its territory.

Unprovoked attacks
“These are unprovoked attacks against our soldiers, who were conducting lawful patrols within Guyanese territory,” the Foreign Ministry stated. “Such actions pose a grave threat to regional security and violate the principles of good neighbourliness and respect for sovereignty.”
The ministry reported that no GDF rank was injured in the three incidents, thanks to measured and appropriate responses by the patrol units, which returned fire in all cases.
The first attack occurred on Tuesday, May 13, 2025 at approximately 17:17h, when troops travelling from Eteringbang to Observation Post (OP) Makapa came under fire from armed men on the Venezuelan side of the river.
On Wednesday, May 14, at around 14:35h, a second patrol was attacked en route to an area known as Black Water. Hours later, a third incident occurred when another patrol encountered gunfire in the same vicinity while returning to Eteringbang.
These developments prompted renewed concern from Guyanese authorities, who emphasized that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in coordination with other government bodies, would continue to monitor the situation and take appropriate diplomatic and security measures.
The Ministry also confirmed plans to bring the latest incidents to the attention of the international community, much like it did following the February attack.

Security operations
The Government has reiterated its commitment to safeguarding Guyana’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, while also seeking accountability through diplomatic channels.
In fact, earlier in the week, President Dr. Irfaan Ali had reaffirmed that the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) is mobilised and prepared to defend the nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity amid ongoing tensions with Venezuela.
The Head of State emphasised that security operations are actively underway, particularly in light of Venezuela’s upcoming elections and continued claims over Guyana’s Essequibo region — claims which Guyana has consistently rejected and challenged through international legal avenues.
Further, when asked at a media event about whether the border is being monitored more closely ahead of Venezuela’s election, President Ali responded, “Definitely! I can’t go into details, but I can assure you that we, along with our partners, are engaged in continuous analysis and monitoring, especially in areas close to the borders.”
The Guyanese Leader’s remarks follow the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ’s) recent order that Venezuela must refrain from conducting or preparing to conduct elections in regard to Guyana’s Essequibo region: two-thirds of the country’s landmass.

ICJ ruling
A day after the order was issued, the Guyana Government had expressed its expectation that Venezuela would act responsibly and comply with the recent orders issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), refraining the Spanish-speaking nation from holding elections in Guyana’s Essequibo region.
“The Government of Guyana expects that the Government of Venezuela will act responsibly in complying with the Court’s Orders of both 1 December 2023 and 1 May 2025, which are legally binding on both States, and in so complying, fully respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Guyana,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Georgetown said in a statement.
Back in January, the Nicolás Maduro regime had announced plans to hold elections in the Essequibo region, which are two-thirds of Guyana’s landmass, on May 25, 2025 – something which Guyana wrote the ICJ in March to have blocked.
The World Court, which is hearing the case to settle the decades-long border controversy between the two South American neighbours, issued an order on Thursday that Venezuela must refrain from conducting or preparing to conduct elections in Guyana’s Essequibo region.
It also reaffirmed the provisional measures issued by the Court on December 1, 2023, which states that “…Venezuela shall refrain from taking any action which would modify the situation that currently prevails in the territory in dispute, whereby the Co-operative Republic of Guyana administers and exercises control over that area; and (2) Both Parties shall refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the Court, or make it more difficult to resolve.”
However, the Venezuelan Government had said no international pressure, judicial blackmail, or foreign court could make it back down, and called on Guyana to engage in direct negotiation and comply with the Geneva Agreement.
In response to Caracas, the Foreign Ministry called Venezuela’s reaction to the additional provisional measures issued by the World Court “unfortunate” and shut down once again any idea of bilateral talks between the two neighbouring states.
The Foreign Ministry went on to remind Venezuela that the case pending before the ICJ is a decision of the United Nations (UN) Secretary General in accordance with the 1966 Geneva Agreement on the settlement of the controversy – an Agreement to which both Guyana and Venezuela are parties.
According to the Foreign Ministry, “The Court’s judgment will be definitive, final, and binding on Guyana and Venezuela. The Government of Guyana urges the Government of Venezuela to do more than pay lip service to the Geneva Agreement, and to actually comply with its provisions, including, but not limited to, Article IV (2). Essequibo is Guyana’s.”
After years of failed good offices process through the UN, and based on the recommendation of the-then UN Secretary General, Guyana approached the World Court in March 2018, seeking a final and binding settlement of the 1899 Arbitral Award, which determined the land boundary between Guyana and Venezuela.
The case is currently pending before the ICJ, which has already established its jurisdiction to hear the matter. Guyana has already filed two written pleadings on the merits, and Venezuela has filed one, with its second pleading due in August 2025. Oral hearings are expected in the first half of 2026, following which the Court will deliberate on the case and issue its final judgment on the Merits, which will be binding on the parties.
Guyana has pledged to accept the ICJ’s Judgment, whatever it might be.