‘No Plans’ For Secret U.S. Military Base In Guyana

White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby has declared no plans for a secret United States military base in Guyana. Kirby’s declaration came amid an ongoing border controversy involving Guyana and Venezuela. Venezuela claims over two-thirds of Guyana’s territory in the resource-rich Essequibo region. In addition, President Nicolás Maduro has enacted a law creating a province of Venezuela in Guyana, while accusing the United States of building secret military bases in Essequibo. Asked whether the United States was considering a military base to support Guyana’s defence of its sovereignty, White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby replied in the negative. ” There’s no plans for a secret military base,” he told reporters at a press briefing last week. “We’ve said many times that there’s an 1899 arbitral ruling about the border between Guyana and Venezuela, and we want both sides to respect that ruling and to do it peacefully,” Kirby stated. While expressing its commitment to diplomacy and the rule of law in its border dispute with Venezuela, Guyana has been bolstering its defences. In December last year, both countries committed to peaceful coexistence in an eleven-point declaration from a high-level summit in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines....