GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – President Dr Irfaan Ali, Saturday, said Guyana has activated its “security architecture” after the United States bombed several military and other sites in Venezuela.
“We have activated our security plan to ensure the safety and security of the citizens of Guyana,” Ali told reporters, adding, “The security architecture is fully active.
“The Guyana Defence Force and the security forces are monitoring the situation, and Guyanese should be reassured that the government is working to ensure the safety and security of our citizens.”
President Ali said the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary General, Dr. Carla Barnett, has also been updated on the developments and that the Chief of Defence Staff, Brigadier Omar Khan, has been in contact with other security partners in the region.
“I will share information as it becomes available. Our entire security architecture and posture have been activated all morning,” he said.
Ali said efforts were underway to convene an emergency summit of CARICOM leaders.
President Ali said he has spoken to ExxonMobil Guyana’s President, Alistair Routledge, concerning ExxonMobil’s offshore operations in Guyana, where almost 1 million barrels of oil per day are being produced.
“They have been alerted, and we’re working together,” he said.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has since declared a state of emergency over what his government called an “extremely serious military aggression” by the United States on the capital, Caracas.
Multiple explosions, accompanied by sounds resembling aircraft flyovers, were heard around the city.
“Venezuela rejects, repudiates, and denounces before the international community the extremely serious military aggression perpetrated by the current government of the United States of America against Venezuelan territory and people,” the Venezuelan government said.
Maduro has also called on the country’s forces to mobilise, condemning what he called an “imperialist attack” on Venezuela.
Maduro said in a statement that civilians and the army had been jointly deployed to safeguard national sovereignty and public order, describing the move as a unified effort involving the people, the military, and the police.
He said the government would lodge formal complaints with the United Nations Security Council, the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and the Non-Aligned Movement, seeking international condemnation of the United States.
The US government has offered a US$50 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Maduro, whom it describes as a narco-terrorist and a key leader in the suspected narco-terrorist organisation, Cartel de Los Soles.
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