Guyana’s Army Chief Omar Khan has said there was no information of Venezuelan involvement in a Guyana Defence Force (GDF)Helicopter that went missing.
“We have no information to suggest that,” Khan stated in response to a reporter’s question whether he had assurance that Venezuela had not taken the aircraft out of the sky.
He said the GDF had rescue missions in the same area where two aircraft were flying.
“We do not have information suggesting there were any flights by Venezuelan aircraft in that area,” Brigadier Khan told a news conference.
He said he was confident that the missing helicopter crew considered all ‘safety parameters’.
Khan also said there were no safety issues with the aircraft.
The missing soldiers were on a mission to visit troops on Guyana’s western border.
Tensions between Guyana and Venezuela have been rising over a border controversy.
Venezuela claims over two-thirds of Guyana’s territory, comprising the resource-rich Essequibo region.
The Bell 412 Army helicopter lost signal about 30 miles from Guyana’s borders near Venezuela.
News about the missing helicopter with seven soldiers on board broke about midday on Wednesday.
The Guyana Army Chief described them as among the army’s best.
Brigadier Khan acknowledged that the helicopter’s disappearance had triggered additional anxiety ‘in this period that we are in’.
A massive search and rescue operation was underway to find the missing aircraft and its occupants.
The army suspended the operation on Wednesday due to bad weather and would continue the search on Thursday.
Brigadier Khan said he remained optimistic, and the morale of troops on the border was high.
Headline photo: Six of the seven missing soldiers.
Sounds like the typical false flag by the US. Casus belli, anyone? Gulf of Tonkin, redux, almost 60 years later? Right out of the play-book of the CIA!