President Irfaan Ali met with United States SOUTHCOM’s commander, U.S. Navy Adm. Alvin Holsey to discuss bilateral defense partnership and regional security. The meeting took place two Thursdays ago (December 5, 2024).
SOUTHCOM is one of the U.S six geographically-focused unified commands with responsibility for U.S. military operations in the Caribbean, Central America and South America, as well as security cooperation with defense and public-security forces in the region the press statement said.
The president’s visit is the latest demonstration of the deepening of the U.S. partnership with the South American nation – a relationship SOUTHCOM is steadfastly committed to expanding and strengthening, the military outfit said in a statement.
Additionally to the meeting with Holsey, Ali engaged in roundtable table discussions with SOUTHCOM leaders on security in Latin America and the Caribbean, and current U.S. military support in the region.
Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro reacting to the meeting accused CARICOM of engaging in actions not only “aim at preparing aggression” against Guyana but also represent a violation of the agreements set in the Argyle Joint Declaration for Dialogue and Peace between Guyana and Venezuela signed on Dec. 14, 2023.
Last week Caribbean security leaders and SOUTHCOM met in Trinidad and Tobago to discuss security challenges and regional cooperation during the Caribbean Nations Security.
Holsey, speaking at the opening ceremony, told the gathering the commonalities between the Caribbean and U.S go beyond common terrain; that the two sides are bound by shared history, culture, values, and economics. “We dedicate ourselves to upholding and established norms and universal values like respect for human rights and the rule of law,” he stated.
Guyana and Venezuela have a border controversy where the latter has coveted two-third of Guyana’s territory. The matter is before the International Court of Justice for determination of the 1899 Arbitral Award that settled the border dispute, expressly stating the determination was “full, perfect, and final.”
Ali was accompanied by Capt. (Ret) Gerry Gouveia, National Security Adviser; Brigadier Omar Khan, Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Chief of Staff; Col. Sheldon Howell, Guyana National Intelligence and Security Agency; Zulfikar Ally, Guyana Non-Resident Ambassador to Mexico and Deputy Chief of Mission to the United States of America; and COL Julius Skeete, GDF Defence Attaché in Washington D.C.