Dear Editor,
We need to move quickly and powerfully to stop the vicious Venezuelan crime cartel ‘El Sindicato’ from violating our borders and terrorising our citizens.
Let me state categorically: this is our land and we cannot allow any foreign criminals or Government to step into our territory and start a reign of terror, blackmailing, killing, raping and molesting of our people.
It really cut into my heart and soul that our miners are so fearful for their security that they found it necessary to put a paid advertisement in the newspapers asking for protection.
In the advertisement, they said heavily-armed El Sindicato gang members have set up bases in Guyana’s sovereign territory and are demanding food, cash and other valuables for safe passage in the areas they control.
This is a sad day for Guyana. Foreign criminals have come into our country and are bullying and terrorising our people and think they can get away with it because we are too scared and too soft to do anything about it.
It makes our country appear weak, almost like our Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan and our military are afraid to confront them. The only proper response is a strong counter-attack to let these criminals know that we run things here.
Throughout the world, criminal organisations in North America, Europe and elsewhere have been known to create insurrections, revolutions and wars to destabilise nations and overthrow governments.
We cannot overlook the possibility that El Sindicato might be an agent of the Venezuelan Government and we have to do everything in our power to call on our citizens, if necessary, to help the military and the Police deal with this threat.
Frankly, I am not inspired by Minister Ramjattan’s response. He seems to think that the Police alone can deal with this matter. He is quoted in the media as saying that Police Officers are being sent to Region One (Barima-Waini), near the Venezuela border.
My suggestion is: bring on board strategy masters of the Guyana Defence Force and Police Force and all brilliant former Director Generals and Army heads to strategise.
This is a time for a decisive military thrust that completely eliminates threat, like the historical “Operation Greenheart” when our military genius Ishoff expelled the Surinamese from the New River Triangle, which they attempted to claim.
In the planning and execution of this military exercise, the Government and Army need to bring members of civic society on board who are patriotic and have the experience in security matters to contribute significantly to the operation.
El Sindicato is a serious threat to Guyana’s national security. Let us do what we have to do. We can involve the Brazilians, our finest neighbours and the Caribbean Community (Caricom). This is not a criminal matter; this is a foreign invasion by a crime cartel that is probably being orchestrated by the Venezuelan Government.
I have suggested before that Guyana can consider inviting the United States military to set up a free military base in that area where they can practice their jungle warfare/guerrilla warfare strategies. This will definitely provide us with a certain amount of protection. They may not accept this idea but, who knows? It’s worth a try, especially now as our oil industry is about to bloom. Our military will also have a chance to do some real soldier work with the United States armed forces instead of just being in barracks. It is time to work with the Americans to safeguard ourselves.
Sincerely,
Roshan Khan Snr
