Guyana's President Issues Stern Warning to Venezuela: We Are Peaceful, Not Weak

GEORGETOWN, Guyana – President Irfaan Ali has again urged the Venezuelan government to respect Guyana’s internationally recognised borders, cautioning that while Guyana is a peaceful nation, it must not be mistaken for weak.

Guyana’s borders were established by the 1899 Arbitral Award, which indefinitely settled the land boundary between Guyana (then British Guiana) and Venezuela.

While maintaining Guyana’s commitment to peace, the Head of State warned that any incursion on its sovereignty would be met with resolute defence.

“We love you, the people of Venezuela, as our neighbours. But do not make the mistake to cross the fence. Don’t cross the fence,” the president said at the commissioning of the $1.2 billion water treatment plant in Region Two.

“We are peaceful people, but we are not weak people. We are strongly united, and our bodies are sealed together in unity. Our blood flows together in one constant beat, on the one heart,” he added.

President Ali also invoked the national motto, ‘One People, One Nation, One Destiny’, describing it as a reflection of Guyana’s unwavering unity and national pride.

He reminded that thousands of Venezuelans have sought and received refuge in Guyana in recent years, but said that this hospitality does not diminish the country’s sovereign rights.

“To our Venezuelan brothers and sisters who are welcome within the borders of our world-class country, you have a right and a duty to honour [and] to respect the laws of Guyana. You have a duty not to do anything that would dishonour the 83,000 square miles of our power,” the president said.

His remarks come amid renewed tensions over Venezuela’s claim to the Essequibo region, a matter currently before the International Court of Justice.

The president’s strong stance drew applause from the crowd gathered for the commissioning ceremony.