The United States Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for the Western Hemisphere, Daniel Erikson, visits Guyana this Monday and Tuesday to discuss with senior officials collaboration on defense and security between both countries and other neighboring territories in the Caribbean.
(You may be interested: United Kingdom sends a warship to Guyana, amid tensions with Venezuela)
Erikson's visit takes place in the middle of a dispute between Guyana and Venezuela over the Essequibo, a territory of about 160,000 square kilometers that Georgetown administers as its own and Caracas claims.
According to a statement from the US Embassy in Georgetown, during his two-day visit the undersecretary will meet with senior officials of the Government of
Guyana, from the Guyana Defense Force (GDF) and the Caribbean Community (Caricom).
Erikson is responsible for US security and defense policy for the region, which includes 34 nations, including Canada, Mexico and lThe countries of Central America, the Caribbean and South America.
(Also read: Caracas' pressure game on the US gives it a 'victory')
This is his first visit to Guyana and his first trip abroad in 2024. “His visit underscores the importance that the United States places on the bilateral defense and security partnership with Guyana in support of regional stability,” the note indicated. .
This partnership focuses, in the short term, on supporting the growth of the GDF and, in the long term, on supporting the modernization of the defense institutions of
Guyana.
Erikson's visit may exacerbate tension with Venezuela, which has recently condemned both joint US-Guyana military maneuvers and the presence of a British warship off the Guyanese coast.
The United Kingdom deployed its ship HMS Trent to Guyana in mid-December as a “show of military and diplomatic support” to the country in its dispute with Venezuela over the management of the Essequibo.
(Also read: Venezuela and Guyana say they will continue talking about the Essequibo dispute)
The president of Guyana, Irfaan Ali, stated at the time that the ship “does not represent a threat to anyone” and that “neither Venezuela nor any other State has anything to fear from activities within the territory or sovereign waters of Guyana.”
Guyana”.
“We have no ambitions or intentions to covet what does not belong to us. We are fully committed to peaceful relations with our neighbors and with all the countries in our region,” he stated.
Furthermore, Ali justified that Guyana “has long been participating in partnerships with regional and international states aimed at improving internal security.”
EFE
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