A Guyanese citizen presently residing in Brazil has weighed in on the existing border controversy with Venezuela and the ever increasing threat of war. According to Mr. Wayne Augusto Mann, it will not be a good idea to engage the Venezuelan military in warfare by putting up a resistance since Guyana has a very small number of soldiers and civilians, and little to no weapons, tanks, and other military equipment. Mr. Mann advises the Guyana Government to use wisdom instead to take Guyana through this existential crisis. This is his advice….
I, Wayne Augusto Mann, a Guyanese citizen by birth, strongly discourage the Guyana Government from confronting the Venezuelan military if it invades the Essequibo Region of Guyana. A military invasion is likely by all outward appearances, and the Guyana Defense Force is in no condition to resist it. Doing so is likely to cause catastrophic losses, bring unimaginable suffering to the people of both countries, and destruction to the countries of Guyana and Venezuela.
Instead, the Guyana Government should relocate all Guyanese citizens out of the disputed territory, possibly leaving those in the Rupununi, which borders Brazil, and is less likely to come under Venezuelan occupation. Use the oil funds to construct new homes for all citizens of the Essequibo in Berbice and Demerara, and abandon the Essequibo. Let Maduro come in there and have it so he and his people can eat grass there.
While evacuating, maintain the position that the Essequibo is still part of Guyana and that Venezuela has violated Guyana’s sovereignty by illegally invading Guyana, but that you are pulling out to avoid bloodshed and destruction. Forestall the exploration and extraction of oil in the disputed region. There is still a lot of oil in non-disputed territory that can enrich Guyana tremendously and make it “the next Dubai.”
In the next few years, spend the oil wealth building infrastructure in Demerara and Berbice, and also investing heavily in the military. Strengthen the military with aircraft, naval fleets, rocket launchers, and anti-aircraft defense systems. Improve the salaries of military personnel so as to attract more citizens to join the GDF. Build Guyana’s armed forces up to the top ten or twenty in the world, then sign mutual defense agreements with several powerful nations – the sort of military alliance that states that an attack on one is an attack on all which makes it compulsory for them to join you in a war. Also, deport all Venezuelans out of Berbice and Demerara once Maduro takes over the Essequibo.
While you are doing all this, Venezuelans will continue to experience economic hardships in the Essequibo as they are doing in Venezuela. Venezuela will get more international sanctions and be further isolated. This might force the military to turn against Maduro and finally expel that curse from Venezuela. US Sanctions will also return to Venezuela.
Then, spend the next few years developing the counties of Berbice and Demerara. Within a few years, the Maduro Regime will fall by itself. Then, you can engage in fresh talks with the new president. Hopefully, the people will fight for and facilitate democratic elections.
Next, form better relations with the new Government of Venezuela. Hopefully, Maduro would have been disposed of by then. Settle the border dispute once and for all, using the ruling of the ICJ, and help the new Venezuelan government to rebuild Venezuela. Now it will be time to form peaceful bonds and forge peaceful relationships with the people and government of the new Venezuela.
If the Venezuelan government at that point refuses to cooperate with the Guyana Government, instruct it to pull out of the Essequibo or face a military consequence. At this point, the Guyana government would have successfully turned the tables. Venezuela will be more afraid of Guyana and forced to pull out of the Essequibo.
This strategy helps both Guyana and Venezuela to avert a long and devastating war that would flush both countries down the drain.
I would also like to advise the Guyana Government to be wary of certain international powers who might be setting Guyana up for war with Venezuela so the currency can drop and they can rape the country’s resources. Remember, if Guyanese and Venezuelans get busy killing each other, certain world powers will be busy shipping out both countries’ resources for a next to nothing prince while selling them military equipment at exorbitant prices – pushing both countries into crippling dept that would take decades or centuries to repay.
