Upon assuming the US presidency, Joe Biden asserted in his first major foreign policy address, “America is back!” For Latin America and the Caribbean, this has meant an “aggressive expansion” of the US military in the region.
US Military Projection in Latin America and the Caribbean Intensifies
A GROUP of advisors from the United States Army, who are part of the first Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB), have been deployed to Guyana to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and provide leadership training to the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).
U.S. Army advisors boost Guyana’s defence capabilities through leadership training
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Guyana, Venezuela Foreign Ministers to meet in Brazil on Jan 25
With a GDP growth of over 63% in 2022, according to the World Bank, and an estimated GDP growth of about 38% in 2023, Guyana is frequently referred to as the world’s fastest-growing economy. The meteoric rise of Guyana’s GDP is almost entirely due to the exploitation of recently discovered oil reserves by US-based multinational petroleum corporation ExxonMobil, a company that traces its origins to Rockefeller’s Standard Oil company.
Guyanese Are Becoming Poorer Despite Living in World’s Fastest Growing Economy
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Guyana is the only English-speaking country in South America and shares cultural and historical bonds with the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana’s two largest ethnic groups are the Afro-Guyanese (descendants of African slaves) and the Indo-Guyanese (descendants of Indian indentured laborers), which together comprise about three quarters of Guyana’s population. Tensions periodically have boiled over between the two groups, which back ethnically based political parties and vote along ethnic lines. Poverty reduction has stagnated since the late 1990s. About one-third of the Guyanese population lives below the poverty line; indigenous people are disproportionately affected. Although Guyana’s literacy rate is reported to be among the highest in the Western Hemisphere, the level of functional literacy is considerably lower, which has been attributed to poor education quality, teacher training, and infrastructure.
Guyana’s emigration rate is among the highest in the world – more than 55% of its citizens reside abroad – and it is one of the largest recipients of remittances relative to GDP among Latin American and Caribbean counties. Although remittances are a vital source of income for most citizens, the pervasive emigration of skilled workers deprives Guyana of professionals in healthcare and other key sectors. More than 80% of Guyanese nationals with tertiary level educations have emigrated. Brain drain and the concentration of limited medical resources in Georgetown hamper Guyana’s ability to meet the health needs of its predominantly rural population. Guyana has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the region and continues to rely on international support for its HIV treatment and prevention programs.
CIA: World Fact Book
The vice president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, has made reports of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana’s continued violations of international law and the Geneva Agreement in favor of the transnational oil company ExxonMobil in regards to the Essequibo territorial dispute, stating that new irregularities are being unveiled on the submissive nature of the Guyanese government towards the US oil corporation.
Scandal Unveiled: Guyana’s Government Finances ExxonMobil’s Taxes
CARACAS – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordered on Thursday the armed forces to launch “the activation of a joint defensive action” in response to the deployment of a British warship off the coast of Guyana.
Maduro Orders ‘Defensive’ Military Drills After UK Deploys British Warship Off Guyana Coast
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Venezuela To Deploy Defensive Action in Response to UK Threat
Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com) — The United Kingdom is preparing to send a warship to Guyana allegedly in a gesture of diplomatic and military support for the former British colony. But in reality, this is a clear military provocation that violates the agreements reached by Guyana and Venezuela in a recent presidential summit in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Imperialist Provocations: UK to Send Warship to Guyana
US law enforcement is investigating armed men who have been conducting surveillance around the home of Mr. Rickford Burke, President of the Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID). Security camera footage captured the men video recording and taking photographs of Mr. Burke’s home and his vehicles’ license plates.
US Law Enforcement Investigating Guyana Government Involvement in Surveillance of Rickford Burke’s Home, Transnational Repression Complaint Filed
Well, I’ll be damned! He’s the head of an NGO called the Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy! I wonder who funds that?!
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Jagdeo says Rickford Burke was properly served summonses; police, govt silent on key questions
Earlier this year, Mr Burke’s CGID organised a conference on Guyana to highlight alleged discrimination against Afro-Guyanese by the largely Indo-Guyanese backed People’s Progressive Party of which Mr Jagdeo is its General Secretary.
President Maduro to Guyana’s President Ali: You Are Opening the Door to the Devil
The Venezuelan president then touched on the International Court of Justice (ICJ). He explained to Ali that going to this court of the United Nations to resolve the dispute over the Essequibo must arise from the will of both states, Guyana and Venezuela, as indicated in the 1966 Geneva Agreement, and Venezuela does not recognize this court’s right to rule on the Essequibo claim.
At that moment, Maduro brought out the list of the 119 countries that do not recognize the ICJ. As he unfolded the paper, Maduro looked at the faces of some representatives of those nations present in the room. “You, Bahamas, here you are on the list; you do not recognize that International Court,” Maduro said looking at the face of Philip Davis, prime minister of that Caribbean island. “You, Mr. Keith (Rowley), you don’t recognize the ICJ either,” he said the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago. The president closed the roll call with Irfaan Ali, whose nation likewise does not recognize the ICJ, although they went to it, in 2018, to ask it to rule on the “legal validity” of the 1899 Paris Arbitral Award, a document that placed Essequibo in the possession of Guyana which, at that time, was a British colony. Essequibo has been part of Venezuela since 1777, when the Captaincy General was founded, according to certified texts.
Venezuela and Guyana to Maintain Direct Dialogue Amid Essequibo Dispute
On Thursday evening, both nations published the “Joint Declaration of Argyle for Peace Between Guyana and Venezuela.”* The eleven-point document establishes that neither nation will threaten the use of force against the other, that both committed to “resolving controversies in accordance with international law” and to “refrain[ing] from escalating any conflict.”
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The first block of talks included the participation of CARICOM, the regional body of Caribbean states that includes and backs Guyana’s position that would have the International Court of Justice (ICJ) settle the territorial dispute over the Essequibo region.** Venezuela holds “observer” status in CARICOM.
Caracas, on the other hand, views the 1966 Geneva Agreement,** which commits the countries to work out a mutually satisfactory solution, as the only binding instrument to solve the border issue.
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The Guyanese president added that he viewed the intervention of the ICJ as “part of the Geneva agreement” since the case was taken to the World Court following a referral by the United Nations secretary general.**
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*The joint declaration of Argyle for dialogue and peace between Guyana and Venezuela
Read More »The president of Guyana, Irfaan Ali, has recently threatened to seek military support from the imperial forces of the United States following the Venezuelan Consultative Referendum over the Essequibo territory, in which over 10 million Venezuelans overwhelmingly voted in favor of recognizing the historical sovereignty over this eastern area of Venezuela.
Guyana Considers Establishing US Military Base (+Trinidad & Tobago)
I called it, two weeks ago!
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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