GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC -President Irfaan Ali Monday confirmed that former United States Secretary of State Mike Pompey had arrived here for a “private visit,” adding, “We have a courtesy discussion.”
“Secretary Pompeo played a vital role in ensuring that Guyana stayed the course of democracy, which was very key when the last government tried to steal an election and steal democracy,” Ali told reporters.
Pompeo served in the Donald Trump administration and, in the aftermath of the regional and general elections here, had issued several statements calling on then-president David Granger to concede defeat.
In 2021, Pompeo, as a member of the Trump administration, found himself at the center of the then-US president’s refusal to accept the results of an election that Joe Biden won.
Ali said that Pompeo had also recently spoken out against Venezuela’s recent territorial aggression against Guyana, adding, “his interest in Guyana and the development of Guyana has always been extreme.”
Venezuela had been laying claim to the Essequibo region, which makes up about two-thirds of Guyana and is home to 152,000 of the country’s 800,000 citizens.
Both Guyana and Venezuela have signed the Joint Declaration of Argyle for Dialogue and Peace, agreeing that “any controversies” between them will be resolved by international law, including the Geneva Agreement dated February 17th, 1966.
Guyana is also awaiting a ruling on the border dispute from the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
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