GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC -Police say they have detained three people in connection with the explosion at a gas station that killed one person and injured several others on Sunday night, but that the main suspect is still on the run.
“Information obtained from these arrests has provided key leads to investigators. The principal suspect, who remains at large, is being actively sought as the investigation continues,” the police said in a statement.
They said that among those arrested is a Venezuelan national and that all three men are assisting with the investigation.
The authorities have not released any name to identify the main suspect being sought. Still, a video image disseminated by them said the man, who is wanted for terrorism, speaks Spanish.
A six-year-old girl, who was in a car in the Mobil gas station compound in the capital, was killed when the contents of a bulky black plastic bag exploded near the vehicle in which she and others were occupants. Four others were injured.
The explosion that rocked several parts of the capital city occurred at about 7:24 pm (local time). According to closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance video, the man was seen entering the gas station and attempting to place the bulky bag in a waste-disposal bin next to a fuel pump. Still, an attendant who was seated there told him not to do so.
The video recording shows him leaving the gas station through the western entrance, but not before placing the bag next to the car. As the vehicle was slowly reversing, the device in the bag exploded, rocking the car.
Meanwhile, the main opposition, We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), is demanding that the government screen migrant workers and foreigners, while the other opposition grouping, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), said that security should be boosted at several key installations, in the wake of Sunday night’s explosion.
“We call on the government to strengthen protection of critical infrastructure such as fuel depots, power substations, and public markets through updated safety audits and drills,” APNU said in a statement.
WIN, which became the country’s primary opposition grouping after securing the second-most seats in the September 1 regional and general elections, called for heightened national security measures, intelligence coordination, and “stricter border monitoring and background checks on all non-Guyanese entrants.”
The party said two explosions at the Ruimveldt Police Outpost and the Guyana Power and Light’s substation in May 2025 and Sunday night’s incident were “interconnected” “attacks” warning that several persons crossing Guyana’s borders with open access to every sector of the society “might be members of the Venezuelan army or intelligence services, and not all have good intentions.”
It accused the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration of “allowing the influx of tens of thousands of Venezuelans into our country,” which compromised the nation’s national security.
In an apparent reference to the United States military build-up in the Caribbean and fears that the stage is being set to depose the Nicolás Maduro administration in Venezuela under the guise of fighting narco-trafficking, WIN said Guyana needed to be wary of the implications. “Given the current geopolitical dynamics, Guyana must remain on full alert for any potential negative repercussions or retaliatory actions from Venezuela,” that party said.
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