-President tells GDF Officers Conference
President Irfaan Ali yesterday said that Venezuela’s political upheaval and the United States’ role there have not diminished the threat to Guyana’s sovereignty over Essequibo.
“The present situation in Venezuela does not remove nor diminish the threat to Guyana’s territory. If anything, history teaches us that uncertainty demands preparedness, not wishful thinking,” Ali stated yesterday as he addressed the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Annual Officers’ Conference.
“Guyana must not drop its guard. Guyana must not blink. We must be prepared. We must be ready. We must be ever vigilant. Preparedness is not provocation. Readiness is not aggression. Vigilance is not hostility. They are simply the duties of a sovereign state that takes itself seriously. And that is why the Guyana Defence Force must continue to ensure that it is ready for any eventuality on land, at sea and in the air.”
