GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – The government has welcomed legislation introduced in the United States Senate to bolster Washington’s security cooperation with Georgetown and deter continued threats from Venezuela.
The bipartisan show of support was reflected in a bill tabled by US Senator Michael Bennet, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. The legislation mandates that the US Secretary of Defence assess and report to Congress on the current state of security cooperation with Guyana and consider whether further US assistance is needed to prevent potential aggression from Venezuela.
“As Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro continues to threaten Guyana, the United States must work with Guyana to deter such aggression,” said Bennet. “This bill will force the Pentagon to evaluate current cooperation and determine where improvements can be made.”
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo described the move as significant and timely.
“We’re pleased that they will see it important…to have the Department of Defence regularly report on Venezuelan aggression towards Guyana,” he said. “And hopefully, to ensure that their designs on our country, which is an aggressive design, will not succeed.”
The legislation comes amid heightened tensions between Guyana and Venezuela over the Essequibo region, a vast, resource-rich territory that Venezuela claims, despite a 1899 arbitral award establishing the boundary between then-British Guiana and Venezuela and recognizing the Essequibo as part of Guyana.
The dispute has reached the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which has twice issued provisional measures barring Venezuela from taking unilateral actions in the contested area.
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