December 16, 2024
Guyanese President Irfaan Ali is received with a guard of honor by the US Southern Command
The United States exerts control over sources of raw materials and trade routes through sanctions, blockades, and military bases. These bases are distributed across the planet and determine global geopolitics; their strategic assurance activities are complemented by training troops from satellite or occupied countries where they are installed.
These bases serve as logistical platforms, command and control centers, and support points for military operations in various regions around the world. The US Department of Defense does not disclose information of all of its military installations around the world.
According to a report by La Razón, “The large number of bases and the secrecy and lack of transparency surrounding the base network make it impossible to compile a complete list.” For this reason, while the American University of Washington reports that there are 800 US military bases in more than 70 countries around the world, the journal Conflict Management and Peace Science estimates that there are 254 US military bases and installations, with 173,000 troops.
In recent years, Guyana has been increasingly raising its “status” as a satellite country of the United States through “military cooperation,” to the point of becoming a military enclave of the United States. Although the Guyanese government stated in January that there are no plans for the US to establish a military base on its territory, the increase in US activities in the country gives reason to think otherwise.
Military exercises as veiled threats
As is well known, the US-based oil transnational ExxonMobil is conducting oil and gas extraction activities in the disputed waters between Venezuela and Guyana. In parallel with Guyana approving ExxonMobil and its partners’ energy projects, the number and intensity of military exercises, the construction of military facilities in the Essequibo region, and visits from the US military elite have also increased.
The tension over the political resolution of the Essequibo dispute lies in Guyana’s insistence that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) must resolve the dispute, while Venezuela does not recognize the ICJ’s jurisdiction in this matter and advocates for a negotiated solution within the framework of the 1966 Geneva Agreement. This agreement was signed between Venezuela, the United Kingdom, and a representative from British Guyana in 1966, shortly before Guyana’s independence. This agreement recognized Venezuela’s claim over the Essequibo territory and aimed for a diplomatic solution.
In 2023, the United States Southern Command led the Tradewinds 2023 military exercises in air, land, and sea over two weeks in Guyana. Mexico, Canada, Great Britain, France, and the 15 member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) participated in the exercises.
In December 2023, the United States Southern Command conducted several aerial missions alongside the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) “to strengthen security cooperation between the two countries.”
This happened just a few days after the consultative referendum held by Venezuela regarding the Essequibo territory, in which all the proposed points were approved by at least 95% of the 10,554,320 voters who exercised their right.
Guyanese media reported that the US military exercise was based on routine operations in disaster preparedness, air and maritime security, and the fight against transnational criminal organizations. This exercise was carried out simultaneously with the 64th edition of the Unitas 2023 exercises.
2024: militarization of diplomacy on the rise
After that referendum and the military exercises, the presidents of Venezuela and Guyana, Nicolás Maduro and Irfaan Ali, met at Argyle International Airport in Kingston, the capital of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, in December 2023. There, they agreed to continue the dialogue regarding the dispute over the Esequibo territory.
However, in January 2024, Guyana was visited by the commander of the 12th Air Force (Southern Air Forces) of the United States, Major General Evan L. Pettus, who held talks with Guyanese government officials and senior GDF commanders about the “national security and sovereignty” of Guyanese airspace.
The Caribbean Community met in Guyana in February 2023 and applauded with “immense pride” the agreement between Presidents Maduro and Ali. Nevertheless, in April, CARICOM issued a statement questioning Venezuela for their enactment of the Organic Law for the Defense of Guayana Esequiba. It accused Venezuela of causing “an unacceptable escalation of tensions with the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and threatening to undermine peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean.”
The statement, which insisted that “the issues and consequent matters must be resolved peacefully and in accordance with international law and its relevant mechanisms, including the 1966 Geneva Agreement,” also stated that “Guyana has the right to present its claim to the International Court of Justice.”
In May 2023, the Guyanese government granted permission to the US military to fly two F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jets over its capital to demonstrate the close military and other cooperation ties between the two countries, according to an AP report. This coincided with the visit of the director of Strategy, Policies and Plans of the Southern Command, Major General Julie Nethercot.
US diplomacy with Guyana has an exceptionally high military component. The bilateral agenda for 2024 was led by the military. Although the narrative mentions plans for cooperation against natural disasters and gang-related armed violence, this has materialized in activities such as the Joint Combined Exercise and Training (JCET) held at the end of August.
The United States Embassy in Guyana announced, “During their time here, the U.S. Southern Command team trained their Guyana Defence Force counterparts in jungle operations, with a focus on tactics, techniques, and procedures.”
Other activities included the maintenance and expansion of infrastructure such as the Brigadier Gary Beaton Aerodrome in Eteringbang (Essequibo), a few meters from the Cuyuní River and the Anacoco Island border protection base of the Bolivarian National Armed Force. The aerodrome would be used as a means of transportation in a region that lacks land or river routes, and the runway allows for the operation of light single-engine or twin-engine piston or turboprop aircraft.
Additionally, the Southern Command financed and equipped a GDF Coast Guard river station at the Ramp Road Ruimveldt naval base in Georgetown, built a new hangar, and expanded the existing aeronautical facilities at the Eugene F. Correia – Ogle International Airport. It also repaired a network of radio repeater stations and the Jungle Amphibious Training School.
On December 5, Guyanese President Irfaan Ali visited the Southern Command in Guyana and met with its new commander, Navy Admiral Alvin Holsey, to discuss the bilateral defense partnership. It is worth noting here that the president graduated with honors from the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies, a US Department of Defense institution.
Venezuela has condemned the military actions carried out by the United States Southern Command in Guyana, branding them as threats to peace in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Regional disunity as catalyst
Just as ExxonMobil has set out to grow in the disputed waters through new oil exploration projects, the United States seeks to do so in the military realm. In addition to being another example of how the US political-military hegemony advances alongside its corporations, the situation in Guyana has a greater geopolitical weight due to Washington’s interest in destabilizing the region through veiled threats.
An example of this is CARICOM’s complete lack of response to the alerts issued by President Maduro regarding the US military deployment in Guyana. CARICOM’s constant uncritical support for Guyana makes difficult its eventual mediation role in the tension with Venezuela.
The location of each US military enclave, whether base or country, is strategically selected by the Pentagon to maximize the responsiveness of its forces to any contingency, which can be done directly or through covert operations. The United States, which has military bases in Curaçao and Colombia, has already executed various actions aimed at Venezuela, such as mercenary incursions like Operation Gideon and other paramilitary actions in the border region with Guyana.
Looking ahead to 2025, the US military deployment in Guyana could bring with it a higher level of surveillance and control of the airspace near Venezuela, as well as the execution of special operations to create scenarios of provocation. Scenarios in which multilateral organizations are not qualified for eventual mediations and diplomatic ties are militarized present new challenges and dangers for the region.
Source: Mision Verdad, translation Orinoco Tribune