Guyanese woman welcomes Maduro to St. Kitts with protest

A Guyanese woman living in St. Kitts braved the sunny weather conditions on Wednesday to stand with two placards in the capital of St. Kitts as the President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro started an official state visit to the Caribbean island.

The woman, Denise DeFreitas, stood along the route from the airport with her placards and then stood outside the venue where the Venezuelan President was meeting members of the St. Kitts government.

SKN Vibes in St. Kitts reported that according to DeFreitas, she was displaying her placards for President Maduro and his entourage to see that if there is one Guyanese residing in the twin-island Federation who is deeply concerned about the territorial integrity of her homeland, “I am that person!”

She was bearing two placards; one read: “All of Guyana belong to Guyanese not Venezuela” and the other which said: “Guyana belongs to Guyanese not Venezuela, not one blue saki, not one cuirass, not one rice grain, not one earthworm, not a blade of grass.”

“I am a Guyanese and if there is one person who knows what Venezuela’s intentions are it is I. I am here today to let the President know that I am not in agreement with what the troops are doing at the border. Guyana is for Guyanese not Venezuelans who want to take away five-eighths of our territory. And, most recently, their interest and covetousness have grown because Guyana has struck oil”, DeFreitas added.

Defreitas said she was eventually asked by a senior police officer to end her protest in front of the meeting venue because it was embarrassing the island.

She said she wanted it to be made clear that her problem is not with St. Kitts but rather with Maduro and Venezuela and he must be reminded every where he goes that Guyanese are against his claim to Guyana and its oil rich resources.

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Over the past days, Venezuela has been building up troop levels at the bordering regions with Guyana.

The Guyana Defence Force has troops stationed in many of the areas on Guyana’s side and has indicated that it is prepared to deploy more troops and equipment if the need arises.

The Venezuelan President has indicated that he wants to meet with President David Granger during the United Nations General Assembly which is already underway in New York city.