Monday’s violent attack on Guyanese soldiers in the Cuyuni region should be a wake-up call for every citizen. Whether these brave men were ambushed by Venezuelan sindicatos—ruthless criminal mining gangs—or by uniformed Venezuelan soldiers emboldened by their government’s territorial ambitions, one thing is clear: Guyana is manifestly unprepared to defend itself.
Six Guyana Defence Force (GDF) soldiers were shot and injured in a brutal assault, yet the government’s response has been tepid at best. The fact that our national defense forces are so woefully under-equipped that they had to fend off a heavily armed attack in a canoe is beyond disgraceful, it is criminal negligence. Where were the rapid-response capabilities? Where were the reinforcements? It is widely reported that there is no military helicopter available to airlift the injured men to the hospital, indeed one soldier is gravely injured and his life is threatened. At the time of publication, the men still did not have access to proper medical care.
Guyana is now an oil-producing nation, yet our military cannot afford a single working helicopter to extract wounded soldiers. This is insanity! How is it that in 2024, Guyanese soldiers have no electricity at their outposts because the generators do not work? Are we to believe that billions in oil revenue cannot even provide basic infrastructure for national security? What exactly is the PPP government doing with this money?
The lives of Guyanese soldiers were put at risk because of sheer government incompetence. This attack was not just an isolated incident, it is a harbinger of things to come. Venezuela has been increasingly aggressive in its claims over Essequibo, and these attacks will continue. If this is how Guyana responds to a skirmish, what will happen if Venezuela escalates into full-scale military action?
The Guyana Defence Force is woefully underfunded—not due to a lack of resources but because of a deliberate policy to keep it weak. The government fears properly arming and empowering the military, largely because it is seen as an institution dominated by African-Guyanese personnel. This cowardly approach to national security is leaving our borders exposed and our soldiers sitting ducks in the face of real threats.
The PPP government has no real military strategy because it is afraid of its own military. Its only response will be to prostrate before the United States and beg for protection. However, no foreign nation will prioritize Guyana’s safety over its interests. We cannot continue to rely on external forces to secure our nation while our military is left to rot.
How can any Guyanese citizen feel safe when our soldiers, our first line of defense, are sent into battle without proper equipment, without air support, without even electricity? This is beyond unacceptable.
The government must answer for this!
- Why is the GDF so under-equipped despite Guyana’s massive oil wealth?
- Why does the GDF not have functioning helicopters for emergency responses?
- Why do military outposts lack necessities like working generators?
- What is the long-term strategy to defend our borders from Venezuelan aggression?
The PPP government wants another term in office? For what? To continue this reckless disregard for national security? To leave Guyana defenseless while they squander the nation’s wealth?
The people of Guyana deserve real leadership, not a government that allows foreign criminals, or worse, foreign soldiers, to gun down our men in uniform with impunity. This attack is just the beginning. If Guyana does not take its defense seriously, we will lose more than just six wounded soldiers, we will lose our sovereignty.
