GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Rickford Burke, President of the Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID), has issued a strongly worded statement condemning the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) for the arrest of Lance Corporal Shamar Calder, a soldier who was recently shot and wounded during a border incident with Venezuelan forces. Burke alleges the arrest is a direct result of the soldier speaking out against the GDF and the PPP government regarding a lack of support.

Burke accused the GDF leadership of acting as a “political tool” of the PPP government and engaging in oppression. He claims that Lance Corporal Calder, who was injured in a May 2026 attack on the Cuyuni River, was “abandoned” by the GDF and President Irfaan Ali, and that his arrest for speaking out sends a “frightening message” to other ranks.

“The GDF is quickly descending into a tool of oppression of the PPP government,” Burke stated, further alleging that the government is imposing “PPP supremacy” within the Force, which he noted is predominantly composed of African Guyanese. The CGID President urged members of the GDF to prioritize their own interests and “leave the GDF” rather than submit to what he calls a “racist PPP ethnocracy.”