“No amount of bluster or sabre-rattling” will change US support of Guyana’s territorial integrity – US Ambassador

In an affirmation of international solidarity, the United States (US) has made it clear that no amount of “bluster or sabre-rattling” will deter its support for Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. According to US Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot, the US stands firmly and unconditionally behind Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, despite rising rhetoric from Venezuela.
Speaking at the launch of Guyana Diaspora Forum Series, the Ambassador declared “none of what Venezuela is doing should affect Guyana’s flourishing investment climate or readiness to do business. That is exactly what I tell every single US company & businessperson interested in Guyana. No amount of bluster or saber-rattling can change the fact that the United States will always stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Guyana in support of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Additionally, Theriot firmly dismissed recent moves by the Maduro regime — including the symbolic “governor election” for Essequibo on May 25 — as meaningless political theatrics aimed at bolstering domestic support, not legitimate threats. She also highlighted the depth of bilateral military cooperation, revealing that the US is assisting Guyana’s maritime and air domain awareness, supporting GDF training and embedding a retired US military officer to provide full-time advisory support within the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).

Joint military exercises
“We have been strongly supporting the GDF & will continue to do so. This includes our growing US security partnership as reflected in Senator Bennet’s recent bill introduced last week. We are helping the Guyanese with their maritime domain awareness, including providing equipment, resources and training and air domain awareness is next on the agenda. Through a strong and steadfast partnership with SOUTHCOM (United States Southern Command), Guyana has hosted a number of invaluable exercises where our Service Members learn just as much from the GDF and militaries from the region as they shared.”
“The Department of State is even funding a year-long embedded retired US military officer in the GDF to assist them on a daily basis with everything from procurement choices to improving recruitment and retention. We also have a much-enhanced intelligence relationship, through which we are able to share military and other types of intelligence with the GoG regarding Venezuela. And of course, we’ve had many high-level visits from SOUTHCOM, the Pentagon, JIATF-S (Joint Interagency Task Force South) with many more to come in the next few months. President Ali often says our military partnership is one of the strongest aspects of our bilateral relationship, and he is not wrong. We’re very proud of that,” Theriot disclosed.
Ambassador Theriot also lauded the critical role of the Guyanese diaspora in deepening commercial and diplomatic ties between the US and Guyana.
“You all can and do play a pivotal role in strengthening and expanding the economic ties… especially as Guyana remains the fastest-growing economy in the world.”
She encouraged diaspora engagement in investment, expertise-sharing, and national development, describing the US/Guyana relationship as “rooted in shared democratic values, mutual respect, and a common vision for a prosperous and secure future.”
Back in December 2023, Presidents Irfaan 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 include 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 border controversy case, 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.”