Terrorism in Georgetown

The bombing of the gas station in the commercial district of Georgetown has been described as an act of “terrorism” by our security agencies and all other analysts. Returning from a trip that took him out of the jurisdiction at the time of the blast, President Irfaan Ali, who would have been briefed by the security agencies, said on his return, “This attack bore all the hallmarks of terrorism. It was an attempt to sow fear and chaos, to destabilise, to create tension.” He went on to promise, “The investigation will continue. The motives behind this heinous act will come to light. We will pursue justice relentlessly. And we will take every lawful measure to protect our people and deter those who may contemplate similar actions.”
Terrorism is defined as “the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.” It makes the important distinction between acts of terrorism and other acts of violence against civilians – its motive is “in the pursuit of political aims”. What it means therefore, by defining the bombing as “terrorism” we know that the motive was political. As such, when Pres Ali talks about identifying “the motives behind this heinous act”, he is getting more granular. We have to identify the specific political goals of the specific persons or organisation that is behind the bombing.
What do we know to date? That the bomber is a Venezuelan national, Daniel Alexander Ramirez Peodomo, who entered Guyana by boat with the bomb on the morning of the day of the blast that was set off around 7 pm. It is clear, then that Peodomo was on a mission, which he completed and was captured at Vergenoegen EBE, based on a tip after $5million reward was publicised. He was accompanied on his mission by at least three other individuals, two Venezuelans (one female) and a Guyanese, who would have already been in Guyana. It was reported that a total of nine individuals were arrested to date. It could be that Peodomo was attempting to return to Venezuela since his image, caught on CCTV went viral. He confessed he is a member of the “Organisation R” Sindicato Gang that is based across the Cuyuni River in Venezuela’s “Arc of Mining” area.
The Arc of Mining was created by the Chavez regime to open up southern Venezuela to large scale mining but has become a “wild south” where the Sindicato Gangs, of which there are several, violently prey – with the connivance of the miliary and political officials – on the small miners who now predominate. According to one report by the reputable Insight Crime that covers Latin America and the Caribbean, “Over the years, the OR also expanded into Essequibo, where it control illegal gold mines…These criminal groups (the Sindicato gangs) offer a form of deniable force, a tactic the Venezuelan state has utilised in the past.” Weapons and bombs are readily available to them and over the years, they have attacked several GDF patrols on the Cuyuni.
As member of Organization R, we can surmise then that Peodomo was sent by it either for their own – or the “Venezuelan state’s” – purposes. From the individuals inside Guyana who accompanied Peodomo on his mission, Organisation R already had a cell in Guyana embedded among the Venezuelan migrants who fled Maduro’s regime. There were the prior terrorist bombings last May of of the East Ruimveldt Police outpost and the nearby GPL substation on Mandela Ave. Three men were involved – two Venezuelans and a Brazilian who were transported by a Guyanese bus driver, who was questioned by police. However, while none of those terrorists were captured, Peodoma and his fellow detainees should be interrogated about their possible connections with Organisation R or other Sindicatos.
The “Venezuelan state” through its Foreign Minister last week reiterated VP Delcy Rodriguez’ earlier threat against Guyana (and T&T) for supporting the US naval build-up by warning they “would suffer the most tragic consequences of any (US) intervention”.
Was the bombing a more directed warning??