Guyana must not “drop its guard” – Pres Ali urges vigilance despite Venezuelan turmoil

…says GDF must be ready for any eventuality

Despite the belief that recent developments in neighbouring Venezuela will see an ease in the aggression towards Guyana over the border controversy, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Dr Irfaan Ali, has cautioned that the country still needs to remain vigilant and must not lower its guard.
“The present situation in Venezuela does not remove nor diminish the threat to Guyana’s territory. If anything, history teaches us that uncertainty demands preparedness, not wishful thinking. Guyana must not drop its guard. Guyana must not blink. We must be prepared. We must be ready. We must be ever vigilant,” President Ali declared.

On January 3, United States troops captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife in Caracas, taking them to New York to face several indictments. With the toppling of the Maduro regime, it is anticipated that the prolonged aggression from Caracas towards Guyana is likely to wane.
According to the Commander-in-Chief, the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) must, nevertheless, be prepared for any eventuality. This, he contended, is not a sign of provocation.
“Preparedness is not provocation; readiness is not aggression; vigilance is not hostility. They’re simply the duties of a sovereign state that takes itself seriously. And that is why the Guyana Defence Force must continue to ensure that it is ready for any eventuality, on land, at sea and in the air. Readiness is not something you scramble to assemble when trouble arrives; it is something you build quietly, steadily and professionally,” the Head of State asserted.
President Ali was at the time addressing the opening ceremony of the GDF’s Annual Officers’ Conference held at Base Camp Ayanganna, Georgetown, on Thursday morning.
Venezuela is making spurious claims to more than two-thirds of Guyana’s landmass – the entire Essequibo region and a portion of Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), where over 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent have been found and production as well as other exploration activities are currently being undertaken offshore.

Aggression
In recent years, there has been heightened aggression from the Spanish-speaking nation towards Guyana, including as recently as last year.
In fact, the GDF’s Chief of Defence Staff, Brigadier Omar Khan, recalled that approximately one year ago, in February 2025, six Guyanese soldiers were injured after coming under gunfire while traversing the Cuyuni River in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), which borders Venezuela.
While the army has recovered from that incident and several others, including another attack in September last year, Brigadier Khan noted that the GDF has since strengthened its presence in those frontier locations and revised its operational posture.
“The Force stayed resolute in maintaining Guyana’s territorial integrity, sustaining operational readiness, and conducting continuous activities to deter threats and protect our patrimony… our mission, even in such an environment, to protect and defend our territory remains non-negotiable.”
“We continue to assess the recent developments in Venezuela. And I must say, regardless of any opportunities such developments can potentially bring, we will and must continue to stand guard,” the army Chief contended.

Unambiguous duty
This declaration was welcomed by the Commander-in-Chief. Even as Guyana enjoys the strong support of regional and international partners as well as organisations against Venezuela’s spurious claims and aggression, President Ali underscored the importance of building internal defence.
“We have an unambiguous duty to defend our national patrimony from threats, both external and internal. And while Guyana actively seeks the solidarity of friends or partners. We must never forget that Guyana is ours, and Guyana is ours to defend. We cannot outsource sovereignty. We cannot subcontract our defence, and we cannot assume that any fairy godmother or godfather will always appear at a decisive moment. We have a duty to be prepared ourselves.”
“Partnerships matter, diplomacy matters, international law matters, and security cooperation matters. But in the final analysis, the most credible lines of defence for us must be diplomacy and the Guyana Defence Force, because the responsibility to defend Guyana rests first and foremost with Guyanese,” he asserted.

Enormous sacrifices
Against this backdrop, the Head of State pointed out that Guyana has to be clear about the terms on which the country engages the world. He recalled the enormous sacrifices, struggles and resistance to ensure Guyana’s political freedom and independence – something, he says, must not be on the line.
“We will never dishonour our legacy by surrendering any of our territory or our independence to anyone. At the same time, we’ll continue to maintain friendly and cordial relations with all. We believe in good neighbourly relations. We believe in cooperation. We believe in friendship and cooperation, but those relationships must be grounded in the respect of our sovereignty, respect of our territorial integrity, and importantly, guided by shared and common values,” President Ali stressed.
In order to settle the decades-old border controversy with Venezuela, Guyana had moved to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) back in March 2018, seeking a final and binding settlement of the 1899 Arbitral Award, which established the boundaries between the two South American neighbours.
Currently, Guyana’s legal team is awaiting a date for oral arguments to be heard on the merits of the case before the World Court deliberates on its final judgement, which will be binding on the two countries.
Guyana has already filed two written pleadings on the merits of the case, and Venezuela has also filed two – the last being in August 2025.
Just last month, Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Hugh Todd told reporters that Guyana is confident in its case and is anticipating a “favourable” ruling from the ICJ sometime this year.