Leader of the Forward Guyana Movement and Opposition Member of Parliament, Amanza Walton-Desir, is warning of grave implications for Guyana, should a war break out in neighboring Venezuela.

Speaking on Gomoseley Radio’s “New Day” programme this morning, Walton-Desir, said not only would the country face a migration crisis, but there will be a social crisis as well.

She said while she does not support the Maduro regime in Venezuela, persons calling for war in Venezuela must look at the bigger picture of what that war could do to a small country like Guyana that shares a border with Venezuela.

“Do you understand that our lives will never be the same if war breaks out in Venezuela and so we have got to understand the implications for us. If war breaks out in Venezuela, immediately you are going to have migrant flows increasing, imagine 300,000 people coming over our borders to add to the 100,000 here already and because its a war, you are not at Liberty to turn them away because they will be refugees and under international convention you have an duty to provide shelter and safe harbor for them,” she stated.

Additionally, MP Walton-Desir said she believes that a united CARICOM is needed now more than ever, explaining that the Regional grouping will have greater influence to calm the situation if the members can speak in a unified voice. She observed that in recent times, that has not been happening due to individual countries having their individual interests.

However, she said leaders in the Region must now try to navigate the issue that could pose a clear and present danger.

“What we are seeing now is this aspiration that we have held on to for decades that the region being a zone of peace, we see that slipping away and that has to be concerning. For us in this region, our leaders, the ones that speak on our behalf have to understand that now is the time for them to be very sober and very temperate because we have see this play out in other parts of the world and it never ends well,” Walton Desir noted.

Walton-Desir said while some countries in the region may face security challenges, CARICOM as a whole must advocate for a return of the rules based system.

In recent months the United States has been building up its military assets and flexing its muscles in the region, as it seeks to put pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to step down.

The US has said that it is fighting drug trafficking and targeting drug cartels in Venezuela. It has carried out aerial strikes on more than two dozen suspected drug boats, killing over 80 suspected drug traffickers.

The situation escalated on Wednesday when the US military seized an oil tanker off the Venezuelan Coast that was transporting oil to Cuba. The US said the oil tanker was transporting a sanctioned product.

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