US built secret Essequibo bases ahead of attack on Venezuela: Maduro
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The Venezuelan President says the US Southern Command and the CIA have established military outposts in the east to escalate against Venezuela.
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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks to supporters at an event commemorating a 2004 speech by late President Hugo Chavez, in Caracas, Venezuela, February 29, 2024. (AP)
The United States military's Southern Command has established secret military bases in Essequibo to the east of Venezuela, President Nicolas Maduro revealed.
"We have information proving that in the territory of Guayana Esequiba, temporarily administered by Guyana, secret military bases of the (US) Southern Command and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have been installed to prepare for launching attacks on the residents of Tumeremo and the southeastern Venezuela," Maduro said.
The Venezuelan President said that the US has done so in preparation for an escalation against Caracas.
He stressed that his Guyanian counterpart, President Irfaan Ali, "does not govern Guyana" and that "Guyana is governed by the Southern Command, the CIA and ExxonMobil."
"I am not exaggerating. They control (Guyana's) congress, the two parties that form the government, the majority of the opposition, the government in its entirety, and Guyana's defenses and police," Maduro explained.
"We will regain our historic rights in Guyana Esequiba scape sooner rather than later, I swear it!" Maduro stressed.
The US Southern Command does maintain a US Security Cooperation Office with Guyana, however, it has not made public that it runs any other facilities in the country.
Southern Command, part of the Department of Defense, maintains a US Security Cooperation Office in Guyana.
Read more: Venezuelan forces return to bases following UK warship withdrawal
US meddling threatens Latin American peace
Earlier in January, Guyana's Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, said that the government has not made plans for US bases in the country, denying that the US made a formal request for one.
In December 2023, Venezuela's President announced the establishment of a new High Commission for the Defense of Guyana Esequiba, consisting of the Defense Council, Federal Government Council, National Security Council, political, religious, and academic sectors, particularly the country's universities, with coordination led by Vice President Delcy Rodriguez.
This initiative is part of a series of governmental actions aimed at implementing the results of the referendum, reflecting the collective will of the Venezuelan people, in retrieving their rights in Guayana Esequiba. The two governments had also agreed not to revert to force or threats to settle disputes, but instead resolve matters of conflict within international law, such as the 1966 Geneva Agreement.
Read more: Guyana: A crushing victory of the Venezuelan people
