Guyanese soldiers and Venezuelan gunmen exchange gunfire again

Guyana’s military Thursday reported three separate attacks by gunmen from across a border river with Venezuela in the past 24 hours in an apparent escalation of tensions ahead of the May 25 elections for lawmakers in an area in Guyana that Venezuela has long claimed as its own.

The Guyana  Defense Force (GDF) said in a statement early Thursday that soldiers on river patrols along the sprawling and winding Cuyuni river came under gunfire from men dressed in civilian clothing on three separate occasions, forcing them to effect “a measured response” while firing back at the gunmen. No Guyanese soldiers were injured, the statement said.

The statement did not say whether the Guyanese military thinks that Venezuelan soldiers attacked the soldiers in explicit civilian clothing. However, the attacks have come just two weeks before Venezuelans vote for a governor and eight deputies, who authorities say, will represent Guyanese citizens and administer Guyana’s Essequibo Region, which it has claimed as its own for decades.

Venezuela has maintained that an 1890s international boundaries commission had cheated it out of the mineral and oil-rich Essequibo. It has vowed to retake the area because it is part of the country’s “inalienable” right to do so. Guyana has taken the matter to the World Court in The Netherlands for a once-and-for-all settlement. No ruling is expected before next year.

In its release, the Guyanese military stated that the “force remains resolute in its mission to protect Guyana’s territorial integrity and ensure the safety of its citizens. It will continue to respond to acts of aggression along the Guyana-Venezuela border and maintain regular patrols along the Cuyuni River. The public is assured that the force is taking all necessary measures to safeguard the nation’s borders and maintain peace and security within our beloved country.”

The release came just days after President Irfaan Ali had stated that the local military had been placed on full alert ahead of the vote for legislators in the national assembly and three months after several Guyanese soldiers were injured in a similar attack in the area.

Tensions between the two neighbors have risen astronomically, especially after Guyana declared large offshore oil and gas deposits.

Venezuela has several times ordered US supermajor ExxonMobil and partners out of the “disputed area,” suggesting that they are operating illegally.

In early March, a Venezuelan gunboat sailed into Exxon’s oil fields, demanding explanations about the company’s presence. The company was producing around 650,000 barrels of oil daily from three fields.