GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Forward Guyana Movement presidential candidate Amanza Walton-Desir yesterday accused the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) of exploiting the Venezuelan migration crisis for political gain, charging that the government ignored years of warnings about organized crime only to sound the alarm days before elections.
Speaking during a Facebook Live broadcast, Walton-Desir questioned why President Irfaan Ali was suddenly raising concerns about Venezuelan gangs when, as she put it, “for the last five years in the National Assembly, I have been warning about this.” She pointed to the government’s border policies as the source of the problem, citing Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud’s admission that more than 100,000 Venezuelans are now in Guyana.
While acknowledging that some are legitimately reclaiming Guyanese citizenship, she argued that “we know that those numbers do not amount to a hundred thousand persons” and said the lack of proper registration and monitoring has left the country vulnerable to “being undermined from within.”
Walton-Desir accused the PPP/C of dismissing earlier warnings as xenophobic while now attempting to weaponize the issue for electoral advantage. “Now, eight days before elections, they are suddenly concerned about Venezuelan syndicates,” she said, adding that the government’s real goal is to convert migrants into a political voting bloc.
She warned that the unchecked inflow has strained Guyana’s health, education, and security systems while leaders such as Ali and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo continue to prioritize power over protection. “Their only aim is to hold onto power at all costs, even if it means selling out the country,” Walton-Desir charged.
She also tied the matter to accountability, criticizing the PPP/C for refusing to convene parliamentary sectoral committees that could have scrutinized migration and security policies. Presenting her own vision, Walton-Desir told supporters that Forward Guyana is committed to a “Guyana-first migration policy” and urged citizens to resist what she described as political gaslighting.
“The first line of defense is to vote the PPP out,” she declared, calling on voters to reject both major parties on September 1 and instead support what she described as “credible change.”
