Guyana seeks help from the US to reinforce its military forces against Venezuela

The government of Guyana reported that he is seeking help from USA to improve its defense capabilities amid fears that Venezuela will seize a disputed region in western Guyana that is rich in minerals and Petroleum.

The announcement follows two days of meetings between senior Guyana officials and Daniel P. Erikson, deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Western Hemisphere, who traveled to the South American nation to discuss defense and security partnerships.

Negotiations ended Tuesday night, with Erikson noting that the United States will help make Guyana’s military forces more organized and better equipped in the coming months. He did not provide further details. The official also said that security forces and specialized training teams that have visited Guyana in the last year will continue to do so in 2024.

Erikson told reporters that Guyana is seeking to modernize its defense capabilities, and that part of the talks focused on reach and capability, as well as cybersecurity.

“One thing of great interest to us is to ensure that as Guyana seeks to increase its defense capabilities, it does so through a plan that is strategic, nested in its overall defense institutions, and sustainable over time,” Erikson said.

He described the talks with Guyanese officials as productive and said the United States is aware of the steps needed to improve defense capabilities.

“We are looking forward to working with them, especially deepening the exchange of information”said. “We recognize that Guyana is at an inflection point in terms of its own economic development, in terms of the regional role that it is capable of playing, and so we want to ensure that our defense relationship with Guyana “continues to keep pace with the times as the situation in Guyana continues to evolve.”

Erikson’s trip comes just weeks after a centuries-old dispute over Guyana’s Essequibo region escalated with Venezuela holding a referendum in December to claim sovereignty over an area that represents two-thirds of Guyana.

Venezuela It has long insisted that the Essequibo region was part of its territory during the Spanish colonial period and argues that a 1966 Geneva agreement between Venezuela, Great Britain and the then British Guiana, now Guyana, annulled a border drawn in 1899 by international referees.