2nd of March, 2022. Guyana, South America
Last updated: March 2, 2022 at 19:03 pmSurprisingly, some Guyanese are of the opinion that Russia’s offensive against Ukraine has little to do with Guyana or Guyanese, and that Guyana needs to “shut its mouth and stay in its corner” to avoid a problem, or, as they would colloquially put it, “sip water and mind my own business.” Unfortunately, Guyana, and the whole world, is already, directly or indirectly, involved in the ongoing Russian/Ukrainian war, because the outcome of the war being fought in Ukraine will impact the entire world.
Nicolas Maduro, who claims a huge chunk of Guyana’s territory west of the Essequibo River, has called President Putin and expressed his “strongest support” for his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. In other words, Maduro doesn’t care how much his support for Russia’s atrocity will hurt his country or cause Venezuela to be further ostracized by the world, all he cares about is backing the Kremlin like a dummy in exchange for Russian weapons and Russian military support.
And it is this Russian military support that Maduro has silently relied upon for years to stave off a Washington sponsored military invasion of Venezuela. Donald Trump’s objective was to take out Maduro from Caracas before leaving office and try him for crimes against humanity, but he was unable to because Putin stood in the way, and further, Bolsonaro softened out and said that Brazil wouldn’t go to war with Venezuela.
How the war ends in Ukraine will determine a lot of things for a lot of countries. Putin, in resisting the West, is sending a strong message to the world that he is invincible. And if he is able to prove this point, then the world will become a more dangerous place. Fickle-minded Vladimir Putin has already threatened nuclear retaliation against Western interference, knowing, or not knowing, that a nuclear war could wipe out life on earth and make the earth uninhabitable.
If Russia wins this war, it will be a slap in the face of NATO, the EU, the US, and their allies. And a Russian victory in Ukraine will prove Putin’s point to the west: that he is boss, and that he calls the shots. And if that happens, a desperate Maduro, no longer afraid of the United States, might be emboldened to take a firmer stance in annexing the Essequibo.
It should therefore be the prayer of all Guyanese that Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine does not succeed. And it would be well in the interest of all Guyanese to support the West in the fight against Russia. Because, if Russia wins, Venezuela automatically becomes a greater threat to Guyana.
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