Chavez recalls invasion plans of sixties
Stabroek News
February 21, 2004
As a young military officer, Hugo Chavez pored over plans to determine the best routes for an invasion of Guyana. Now as President, he says he still studies maps but now it is to determine what would be the best route for the proposed road link between Guyana and Venezuela.
Speaking to parliamentarians and civic leaders at Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel and at a joint press conference he hosted with President Bharrat Jagdeo at State House on Thursday evening during his one-day state visit, Chavez laid much of the blame for the historic tensions between Caracas and Georgetown on the United States.
Chavez said the US fomented strife between Guyana and Venezuela so as to divide them and push them into an armed conflict. He said it was a similar strategy to that of arming ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein which sparked a ten-year war between Iran and Iraq.
"That was the imperialist plan which created great business because since then Venezuela has been in debt because of its heavy expenditure on military equipment, much of which was obsolete, obtained from North America." He said the strategy also generated severe corruption in his country.
He went on to recall that the possibility in the 60s of Guyana becoming another Cuba was used to whip up antagonism in the Venezuelan military.
The military were given maps that showed Venezuela surrounded by Cuba, Grenada and Guyana poised to attack it.
But he declared that the sentiment against Guyana had changed dramatically since then and his visit was an indication of the country's desire to strengthen and foster closer relations.