WIN Urges National Unity, Opposition Engagement Amid Venezuela Crisis

The We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), the largest opposition party in Parliament with 16 of the 29 opposition seats in the 65-member National Assembly, has called for immediate national consultation and bipartisan engagement following recent United States military action in Venezuela and the removal of President Nicolás Maduro.

In a statement issued on Saturday, WIN said the developments have “fundamentally alter[ed] the geopolitical and security environment in which Guyana operates,” warning that the situation demands “national unity, institutional maturity, and responsible leadership.”

The party noted that Guyana has long faced pressure from Venezuela over its “unlawful claim to Essequibo,” and cautioned that regime change in Caracas does not eliminate those risks. “Those tensions do not disappear because of regime change; in fact, they may intensify in unpredictable ways,” the statement said.

WIN warned that Guyana could now face heightened vulnerabilities, including “increased cross-border movement and refugee flows,” “retaliatory actions by Venezuelan actors operating within Guyana,” and “heightened threats to Guyanese citizens [and] infrastructure,” as well as “economic and security instability, particularly in border and hinterland regions.”

While emphasising that it “unequivocally calls for peace in the region,” WIN said stability in the Caribbean and South America must be pursued through “diplomacy, international law, and mutual respect.” The party added that Guyana’s long-standing commitment to peaceful dispute resolution and regional cooperation “must remain firm and credible.”

However, WIN criticised the Government’s handling of national security matters, accusing it of unilateral decision-making and excluding the Opposition. “In circumstances such as these, no responsible government governs alone. Yet the Guyana government has chosen a path of unilateralism,” the statement said, adding that the Opposition has been sidelined and Parliament effectively excluded from security discussions.

“National security is not a party matter. It is not a PPP matter or an opposition matter. It is a Guyana matter,” WIN stated.

The party argued that the Constitution anticipates moments of national crisis that require consultation and cooperation, warning that “a government that excludes half the electorate from discussions on national security weakens the country it claims to defend.”

WIN called on President Irfaan Ali to immediately convene a meeting with the Opposition to discuss the “security, humanitarian, and diplomatic implications” of developments in Venezuela, and to address the nation directly on the Government’s assessment of risks and preparedness measures.

The party also renewed calls for an urgent meeting to elect an Opposition Leader, saying this is necessary to activate the Parliamentary Oversight Committee on the Security Sector so that Guyana’s security policy can be collectively reviewed during what it described as a critical period.

“Silence, exclusion, and executive control are not strength,” WIN said. “In moments of regional instability, unity is strength, transparency is strength, and constitutional governance is strength.”

The statement concluded by warning that Guyana “cannot afford division or democratic paralysis” as regional tensions evolve, stressing that leadership now requires “engagement, not avoidance; consultation, not control; and nationhood, not partisanship.”