An attack against a Guyanese army boat that was guarding civilian vessels on the Cuyuní River, on the border with Venezuela, left a soldier injured, precisely on the day that the hearings of the two countries before the International Court of Justice began, in the border dispute they maintain over the Essequibo region. Guyanese authorities have not yet determined the identity of the attackers or the circumstances under which the incident occurred.
First modification: 05/05/2026 - 04:49
A Guyana Defense Force (GDF) patrol was attacked by gunfire on May 4 while sailing along the Cuyuní River, on the border with Venezuela, in an incident that left one soldier injured and whose responsibility is yet to be determined.
The military ship was escorting three civilian vessels carrying passengers and cargo, between Makapa and Eteringbang, in Guyana's Region Seven, when it was fired upon from an undisclosed source.
The affected officer suffered two gunshot wounds to the right leg. Immediately, the crew members of the military patrol returned fire, while executing evasive maneuvers to guide the convoy to a safe area.
The injured soldier received first aid at the scene and was transferred to the capital Georgetown for treatment.
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The GDF issued a statement affirming its willingness to continue “maintaining an active operational presence along the western border” and its commitment “to the protection of its personnel and the safeguarding of the territorial integrity of Guyana.”
They did not offer, however, details about the identity of the attackers or the circumstances under which the exchange of fire occurred.
It is also not known if the authorities plan to reinforce security as a result of the incident, beyond regular patrolling, which is maintained.
Other similar offensives have been attributed to elements of the common underworld, members of criminal groups based in Venezuela.
In February 2025, six Guyanese soldiers were injured in a similar incident, in which their patrol was attacked on the border, also in the waters of the Cuyuní River, and for which army chief Omar Khan blamed suspected gang members.
On that occasion, the now deposed Nicolás Maduro accused the Guyana government of having staged a “vile setup” and a “false flag operation” with the objective of “spreading a false hostile and malicious narrative about an alleged attack against Guyanese troops.”
Dispute on another front
At the same time that this meeting was taking place on the border, hearings began at the International Court of Justice in The Hague on the historic border dispute between both countries, over an area of 160,000 km around the Essequibo River.
The claim, which recently experienced a curious chapter, when the president in charge wore a brooch with a map of Venezuela that included the disputed area, was defined by Guyanese Foreign Minister Hugh Hilton Todd as a “threat to our peace and security” and a brake on “our development.”
The area that Caracas claims as its own constitutes 70% of Guyana's territory and includes six of the country's 10 administrative regions, including Cuyuní-Mazaruni (where the exchange of gunfire took place this Monday) and the jungle area in which the American consortium Exxon Mobil detected oil reserves of about 11 billion barrels in 2015.
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Guyana's representation today before The Hague presented a defense of the 1899 arbitration award, which confirmed the borders that today encourage the exercise of Guyanese sovereignty over the region.
For his part, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil assured that the neighboring country's position was full of “false arguments” and “manipulations,” and reiterated that Caracas will not recognize the ICJ ruling.
“Nothing that has been presented today contradicts the rights of Venezuela,” stated Gil. "The only way, we repeat, is direct negotiation, to which, sooner or later, Guyana is obliged to sit down to negotiate with us."
ICJ rulings are binding and cannot be appealed, but the UN's highest court has no mechanisms to enforce them, beyond Security Council resolutions, where the veto power of five of its members has made it practically impossible to reach consensus.
With EFE, Reuters and local media
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