Georgetown: The Guyana Government has announced that the border controversy with Venezuela has deepened as extraordinary military deployments have been spotted at the Guyana’s border.
President David Granger Tuesday morning said “the situation is getting worse not better. Although Venezuela is embroiled in a major controversy with Colombia, we have recently received reports that Venezuela is making extraordinary military deployments in Eastern Venezuela; that is western Guyana; that seems to be impacting on Guyana’s territorial defence,” President Granger said this morning at his Georgetown Ofiice.
The President and his security chiefs are currently in a meeting to decide on an appropriate response.
“We feel that Venezuela is threading a very dangerous course at this point in time. Rather than seeking a peaceful resolution of the matter, Venezuela seems to be pursuing a very offensive and aggressive course,” Granger stated.
He added: “I have been in my earlier profession familiar with Venezuelan behaviour and what we have noticed during the month of September is extraordinary escalation of Venezuelan military activity in eastern Venezuela- it is extraordinary, it is abnormal.”
Meanwhile, Colombia has accused Venezuelan troops of crossing into its territory, firing their weapons during an apparent hot pursuit of an individual on a motorcycle.
Tensions along the border have been rising since mid-August when Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro closed key border crossings, deported hundreds of Colombians and declared local states of emergency in a crackdown on cross-border smuggling that has created a crisis between the two countries.
On Thursday night, a Venezuelan fighter jet crashed near the border while pursuing a plane suspected of ferrying drugs, and last week the Colombian government said its airspace had been violated on three occasions by Venezuelan military aircraft.
The latest incident, as reported by the Colombian military, involved about 15 Venezuelan national guard troops stationed along the border near a crossing in northern Colombia called Paraguachon.
"The Venezuelan military crossed the border in apparent pursuit of an individual on a motorcycle, who was trying to cross into Venezuela on an informal trail," the Colombian army said in a statement late Friday. "The Bolivarian National Guard fired shots with long-barreled weapons and initiated pursuit in a 4×4 vehicle, entering Colombian territory by nearly a kilometre," it said.
The man fled to a house, abandoning his motorcycle, which Venezuelan troops then set on fire before withdrawing, according to the statement.
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