Ahead of Venezuela’s ‘fictitious’ Essequibo election: “Be our eyes and ears” – GDF chief urges Toshaos to guard sovereignty

Chief of Defence Staff, Brigadier Omar Khan, has urged Toshaos and village leaders to be vigilant and essentially help serve as the Guyana Defence Force (GDF’s) eyes and ears, ahead of the “fictitious” elections Venezuela has claimed it will hold for a governor for Guyana’s Essequibo territory.
Brigadier Khan made these remarks while addressing hundreds of Toshaos attending the National Toshao Council conference 2025 at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC).

“I am on record to say that as we prepare for May 26th, our 59th independence anniversary, there’s a day just before that. May 25th. The Venezuelan authorities are holding an election to appoint a governor to a fictitious land. I want you to be vigilant,” Brigadier Khan said.
“I want you to tell us to turn right, to turn left and what kind of decision we should make. People are taking videos of what’s happening on the other side and send it to me. Send it to the Commissioner. We want to know when to turn left and when to turn right, and we need your support.”
Khan noted that any support provided by indigenous communities will not only help the GDF in defending them, but will ultimately help the communities too since it will enhance the army’s ability to respond to evolving threats.
“In a few days’ time, we will be celebrating our 59th anniversary of independence. It’s important for us to understand what sovereignty means and to love and protect our country. Give us the information. Tell us what’s happening. And all of us will go back to that ecosystem and realise how lovely we are as a people and our destination is one of prosperity and peace.”
According to Khan, Guyana’s continued and future prosperity is heavily dependent on the country defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity. With this in mind, he noted that all citizens have a stake in achieving this… a message he noted that President and Commander-in-Chief Dr Irfaan Ali has been reinforcing,
“This is my interpretation of what President [Dr Irfaan Ali] has been talking about. He wants everybody, to have a better or improved quality of life. But what do we go to get there? It’s a combination of things. And sovereignty, territorial integrity, is a key part of that,” Brigadier Khan said.
“We have to ensure we can protect what we have, so we can get what we need. And this is an important part in what the uniformed officers and ranks play. And I want to tell you that you are part of that. The will of the people. Democracy. Inclusivity. All of us are in that ecosystem.”
Back in December 2023, Presidents Ali of Guyana and Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela signed the Argyle Declaration in Argyle, St Vincent and the Grenadines. This agreement was facilitated by regional leaders, including Prime Ministers Ralph Gonsalves of St Vincent and the Grenadines and Roosevelt Skerrit of Dominica, with support from Caricom, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), Brazil, and the United Nations (UN).
Key provisions of the Argyle Declaration had included a commitment to non-aggression, the peaceful resolution framework and the establishment of a joint commission comprising Foreign Ministers and technical experts from both countries was to be formed to address mutually agreed matters.
Despite the provisions, Venezuela continues to use aggressive tactics against Guyana, including plans to unlawfully elect a Governor and legislative council of “Guayana Esequiba State”, which is the name the Spanish-speaking nation has given to Guyana’s Essequibo region.
In January 2025, the Nicolás Maduro regime had announced plans to hold elections in the Essequibo region, which is two-thirds of Guyana’s landmass, on May 25, 2025 – something which Guyana wrote the International Court of Justice (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, subsequently issued an order 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.”