The United States Government will spend US$5 million to assist Venezuelan migrants in Guyana.
This was revealed by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo today after he signed two bilateral agreements in Georgetown.
In an address following the signing, Pompeo said: “The United States has now allocated $5 million to help Venezuelans in Guyana who have had to flee from Venezuela to Guyana to escape the horrors and brutality of the Maduro regime.
I trust that that cooperation will continue and I want to express my personal appreciation for Guyana’s hosting the Venezuelans that have crossed inside of your country.”
The Guyanese Government had been reluctant to disclose if Venezuela would have been a talking point during the secretary of state’s visit.
It was the US State Department that confirmed Venezuela’s political and migrant crisis would have been on the agenda.
During his address, Pompeo noted “the need for democracy in Venezuela and an end to the illegitimate Maduro regime – the man who’s denying that very democracy that the Guyanese people so love.”
He thanked the Guyanese Government for standing with the US against the Maduro regime.
Pompeo gave a further comment on Venezuela in an interview with Guyana’s National Communications Network (NCN).
He said that his trip to Guyana was not to antagonise Venezuela but rather to “congratulate the Guyanese people on the enormous success they had in holding a democratic election and a peaceful transition to power.”
He added: “We want this for the people of Venezuela as well. We want them to have the very same chance to have a free, fair election, for the rule of law, for democracy, and for human rights in Venezuela.”
“We watch people fleeing – fleeing into Guyana, fleeing into Colombia, fleeing into Peru, Ecuador, people having to flee from Maduro and his brutal regime. We very much want that to change.
That’s why we came down here today, to help make sure that the new leadership here in Guyana understood that the United States was a friendly nation with good intentions for them.
Pompeo departs Guyana later today and he will head to Boa Vista, Brazil.