Stabroek News, one of Guyana’s principal dailies, on Nov. 22 ran a prominent letter to the editor reporting in detail on former President Donald Ramotar’s presentation to the Nov. 20 EIR emergency roundtable on the Venezuela crisis. Including EIR’s graphic announcing the event and a link to the full proceedings, the letter ran under the headline: “Former President Ramotar’s Analysis Why the U.S. Military Might Is Amassed in the Southern Caribbean Sea Is Incisive.”
The writer, Prof. Alissa Trotz, is Director of the Caribbean Studies Program at New College at the University of Toronto in Canada. She wrote that President Ramotar “offered an important, far-reaching and incisive analysis of the crisis before us. His contribution deserves to be quoted at length.” What follows is her selection from Ramotar’s speech.
“Not since the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 in the Caribbean, is the Caribbean in the kind of danger of war that we are experiencing right now. The U.S. has amassed a huge amount of modern military equipment in the South Caribbean Sea right on the border with Venezuela, having some of its most modern and most powerful equipment there. The fig leaf that is being used to fight against narco criminals [is that] President Trump is claiming that drugs from Venezuela are killing many Americans, yet the facts [do] not correspond to his assertion. A previous UN official has announced that Venezuela is one of the … countries that [least] tolerates narco criminals … that a UN report on the drug trade of 2025 has not identified Venezuela as a problem. So too is the European Union report that has not mentioned Venezuela even in passing in its 2025 report.
“This therefore is a false flag to serve as a pretext for attacking Venezuela to carry out regime change. This is an old tactic used by aggressors to destroy progressive and democratic forces…. Anti-communism was the other excuse that was used in the 1950s and 1960s to attack the PPP government in Guyana. It was used in Cuba too to attack the Cuban government and in the 1970s it was used to attack the government of Allende in Chile. If drugs was really the issue in Venezuela, the United States should be dealing with the very large market that it provides for the drug trade. That is where it should be concentrating its efforts. Moreover, it could use its considerable power to stop the illegal gun flow, the illegal gun trade that fuels crime in the hemisphere. At the same time, it has the power to deal with the banks in the U.S. that are laundering most of the drug money.
“Clearly this talk about drugs is nothing else than a false flag operation. The real reason lies in the fact that since the elections of President Hugo Chávez in 1998 in Venezuela, Venezuela adopted a more patriotic stance and also changed the orientation of the government … which was at that time pro-American and pro- capitalist in its orientation. Chavez wanted the considerable wealth of Venezuela, and particularly the oil wealth, to service the needs of the poor in his country and to assist in the development of Latin America and the Caribbean…. The United States doesn’t want to tolerate any country that tries to do anything differently than what they are proposing. Therefore any attempt by any country to assert sovereignty over their natural resources will meet the hostility of the United States and their allies.
“The other factor that is fueling America’s aggression is its effort to hamstring China’s development. It sees China as a threat, not because China is threatening war on it. On the contrary, China … has evolved a new kind of foreign policy described as a win-win policy which is very attractive to the long-suffering peoples of the South in particular, but even for more developed countries as well.… Infrastructural projects have enhanced economic prospects of many countries in the South, including in our own region. The new port in Peru stands out as a beacon of a win-win approach and a monument to Latin American and China friendship and cooperation.
“During the Biden presidency, the G7 countries had, at a meeting, the last meeting that he attended … created a special fund, not necessarily to help the people of the South, but as they stated very frankly, to counter the Belt and Road initiative of China…. Even though that was … an anti-Chinese plan, China still welcomed their participation and … saw it as another possibility that cooperation can bring and make a contribution to world peace. Unfortunately, the U.S. has rejected that approach and has adopted a strong militaristic line to achieve their quest to maintain global dominance. This is fully on display in the Middle East where the genocidal war is taking place.… This is the root of the conflict in Europe, the ill-conceived idea to ignore Russia’s legitimate security concerns, and the attempt to use Ukraine as a proxy for NATO to oppose Russia is at the heart of what is happening there today.
“The U.S. … is threatened today by the emergence of a new multipolar world, the emergence of the BRICS countries … offering alternatives to countries and … a new trade and financial system that is removing the monopoly of U.S. power. These events have done a great deal to expose the extent to which the U.S. seems ready to go to maintain its position. It is openly ignoring international laws, as we see right now in the killings in the Caribbean of people who … they are branding … as narco terrorists. But they have the power to stop those boats and check and provide the evidence, but they choose instead to kill instead of to arrest.… The U.S. has also been attacking international institutions apart from flouting international laws … when it cannot bend it to its own will….
“The international socio-economic and political situation is at an important juncture. On the one hand, the old exploitative imperialist neocolonial system has become openly hostile at any attempts to create a more just and humane world. Military measures are more and more being resorted to, to maintain the status quo. On the other hand, the contours of a new world order have already taken shape. This is represented by the growth of the BRICS … which is announcing the appearance of a multipolar world. This I believe is the main contradiction of our time and it is impacting on almost every important issue.… This is what is characterizing our region today. The U.S. presence is driving fear and deep concern in almost all the governments of the region….
“They are either deafeningly silent as to what is taking place on their doorstep or they are trying to appease the U.S. by saying that they support the anti-crime fight. The stakes are too high to be silent. That is why the statement by former heads of governments of the Caribbean, on the potentially explosive situation in the region is very important…. U.S. intervention in Venezuela has the potential of generating untold negative consequences. It would result in massive loss of lives…. It could cause a worse refugee crisis, the likes of which we have never experienced in this region. It would lead to many unforeseen negative consequences that at the moment we probably still don’t see.…
“Even at this late hour, let us demand for common sense to prevail. Diplomatic efforts must be intensified on the one hand. On the other hand, we must encourage mass intervention. International solidarity is most vital to prevent another catastrophe in our world. We have had enough and we must have the participation of our people to try to prevent this dangerous situation.”
Professor Trotz concluded: “Former President Donald Ramotar must be commended for speaking out in these difficult times. His call for international solidarity to ‘prevent another catastrophe’ should be read, listened to, and shared across and beyond the region. President Ramotar’s opening and closing remarks, along with the contributions from other panelists, can be seen by visiting the website of the EIR where the entire program can be found (https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=fpLl-9Ba8tw). I encourage readers to listen to this important program for themselves.”
