Amidst escalating tensions with Venezuela and renewed attacks on Guyana Defence Force soldiers, Opposition leaders are issuing stern warnings about what they describe as the People’s Progressive Party (PPP/C) government’s failure to rise to the moment. Shadow Minister of Legal Affairs Roysdale Forde and Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs Amanza Walton-Desir have both delivered forceful critiques of the administration’s handling of the Guyana-Venezuela territorial crisis.
In a strongly worded op-ed, Forde condemned the PPP/C’s decision to stage a concert in Essequibo at a time of heightened threat from Venezuela, calling it “tone-deaf at best and recklessly irresponsible at worst.” The government plans to hold the concert on 24th May, the eve of the elections plan by Venezuela for the Essequibo region. Political analysts and diplomats have also blasted the decision.
The shadow attorney general argued that the administration’s response to a looming geopolitical crisis has lacked seriousness, strategy, and substance. “Concerts are not strategy. Steelpan is not diplomacy. Chutney is not deterrence,” Forde wrote. “Guyana needs a coherent, assertive, and unifying national response. Instead, we get DJs and dancers while [Venezuela President Nicolás] Maduro sharpens his knife.”
Forde’s criticism comes hours after GDF soldiers came under fire by Venezuelans at the Cuyuni and weeks after Venezuelan military vessels entered Guyanese waters in March 2025—an act widely condemned by CARICOM and the international community. The incursion was part of Venezuela’s ongoing, illegal campaign to claim Guyana’s Essequibo region and install a so-called “governor” in open defiance of a binding order from the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Forde argued that while Venezuela has mobilised propaganda and diplomacy to sow confusion, Guyana’s government has failed to mount a serious public relations campaign or rally global support beyond formal diplomatic statements. “Where is the national communication plan? The media offensive? The mobilisation of our diaspora? The education of our youth on the gravity of the threat?” he asked.
Adding to growing concerns, the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) confirmed that its troops came under fire on three separate occasions this week while patrolling the Cuyuni River, close to the Venezuelan border. In response, Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Amanza Walton-Desir issued a public statement expressing solidarity with the troops and urging national leadership to match words with action.
“Our soldiers came under fire in three separate attacks in the Cuyuni while defending our country. These are not just attacks on our troops—these are attacks on Guyana,” Walton-Desir stated. “Let us be honest and acknowledge that more has to be done for our men and women who risk their lives in our defence… The time for decisive, inclusive leadership is now.”
Forde also took aim at the government’s failure to invest meaningfully in Essequibo’s long-term development. Despite billions in oil revenues, the region continues to suffer from poor infrastructure, unreliable services, and neglected communities.
“This is not just mismanagement—it is a moral failure,” Forde declared. “Essequibo should be a bastion of economic strength and national pride, not a stage for tokenistic performances.”
Drawing on historical examples, Forde referenced strategic hinterland development during the People’s National Congress (PNC) government in the 1960s and 70s, when young people were engaged in projects across agriculture, infrastructure, and national defense. He argued that today’s government lacks both the vision and urgency to secure Essequibo’s future.
“Essequibo doesn’t need more flags—it needs farms, factories, fiber-optics, and future-proof planning,” he wrote. “Our sovereignty is not a theme for celebration—it’s a call to action.”
With Venezuelan aggression mounting and confidence in the PPP/C’s crisis management fading, the opposition is calling for a comprehensive national strategy that prioritizes development, unity, and defense.
“The world is watching. Venezuela is moving,” Forde concluded. “And history will not be kind to leaders who chose celebration over confrontation when our sovereignty was on the line.”
