00:00 (dramatic music)
00:02 One day before the referendum in Venezuela,
00:10 police officers of Mabaruba,
00:11 as well as officers from Georgetown,
00:14 spent this morning giving out these flyers
00:17 to residents here in this community
00:19 to kind of basically make them aware
00:23 of what is the right information
00:26 that is being portrayed in the media
00:30 in comparison to what is being said in Venezuela.
00:34 Officers from the Georgetown Communication Affairs Unit
00:37 and the officers from the Mabaruba police
00:39 tried explaining to those who were not entirely certain
00:42 about the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy.
00:45 A senior officer who spoke to TV6 News Off-Camera
00:48 said the propaganda that was being peddled
00:50 on the TV stations that residents in the Mabaruba
00:53 access through DirecTV was not helping their cause
00:56 to calm the nerves of citizens in this area.
00:59 He said it was that rhetoric
01:01 and Maduro's messages on national television
01:04 that was doing more harm than good.
01:06 There was a heightened police presence near the waterfront
01:10 that he denied it had anything to do
01:11 with the border dispute,
01:13 but rather an exercise for the increased
01:15 commercial activities with Christmas approaching.
01:19 Roxanne Smith of Venezuela, now living in Guyana,
01:22 said she was displeased with what was happening.
01:24 - Maduro is saying he's coming,
01:26 he wants to defend this area,
01:28 and he's saying that this is Venezuela's.
01:30 How do you feel about that?
01:31 (speaking in foreign language)
01:35 - Thank you.
01:50 - Over the last few days,
01:51 we heard about activities happening along the border.
01:54 We traversed the Aruka River, which meets Barima River,
01:58 that takes you onward to the border.
02:00 So just before we get to the border in Botero,
02:04 which is about 25 minutes away from here,
02:06 along the Barima River,
02:08 we have to stop here at Marijuana Police Station
02:11 just to notify them that we are going
02:13 into that area near the border.
02:19 This is as close as we can get
02:21 to the Guyana-Venezuela border point here
02:24 after a 40-minute ride on the Barima River by boat.
02:29 It is one of many access points
02:31 into Venezuela and into Guyana.
02:35 It appears relatively calm now
02:36 at that army base there in Venezuela.
02:39 And just a stone's throw away
02:41 is the Umberto Police Station,
02:44 where, Officer said, anything becomes untoward,
02:47 and there is any unusual activity,
02:50 they will contact the Guyanese Defense Force,
02:53 which is stationed just about 15 minutes away
02:55 in the Morajana area along the river.
02:58 Stationed on a small tower
03:00 overlooking the Venezuelan army base
03:02 is an armed Guyanese police officer.
03:05 He's keeping a watchful eye on the activities on the base,
03:08 where approximately 35 soldiers are posted
03:11 with a military boat and an area packed with sandbags.
03:15 For now, Guyana is waiting to exhale
03:17 after tomorrow's referendum in Venezuela
03:21 and hope that Maduro's designs on the Ezequiel region
03:24 will be a fleeting thought that will soon go away.
03:28 Marc Besant, TV6 News.
03:32 ♪♪
03:34 you
03:36 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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