Rupununi uprising

Secessionist insurrection in Guyana

Guyana Defence Force
| combatant2 = Rupununi rebels
Support:

| commander1 =
| commander2 = Valerie HartElmo HartJames HartAverrel John Melville
| units1 =
| units2 =
| strength1 = 200 soldiers
| strength2 = 120–300 rebels
| casualties1 = * 5 police officers killed
2 civilians killed
20 total wounded who sought to control 22300 square miles (57,757 km2) of land. In the Journal of Global South Studies, Taylor wrote, "Guyana faced a serious external threat from its much larger neighbor, Venezuela, which was pressing its historic claim to two thirds of Guyana, the area west of the Essequibo River", further stating that while the Guyana Defence Force had 750 soldiers with no navy or aviation units, the Venezuelan Armed Forces had 15,000 troops along with a well functioning air force and navy. Shortly after Guyana achieved its independence from the United Kingdom and the departure of the British Armed Forces in May 1966, Venezuela began to encroach on Guyana's territory, with Venezuelan troops capturing and occupying Ankoko Island in October 1966. In 1967, reports emerged that Venezuela was enacting economic warfare against Guyana and later in the year, a British national was expelled from Guyana for provoking indigenous groups to support Venezuela territorial claims.

The rebellion was primarily led by ranch heads who feared their land rights would be revoked by the new Guyanese government following the 1968 Guyanese general election. The Hart family was one of the main groups organizing the plot. Valerie Hart, a United Force politician, her two brothers, James and Elmo, and two Americans named Harry and Richard Lawrence, also led the rebellion. Guyanese Agriculture Minister Robert Jordan declared that the government would not recognize the inhabitants' land ownership certifications and warned that the zone would be occupied by the African American population. Valerie was present at the First Conference of Amerindians Leaders, named the "Cabacaburi Congress" in 1968, presenting demands to Burnham who represented the community of around 40,000 indigenous people of the Rupununi district. The movement, according to Venezuelan Navy officer Pedro González Caro, defended the integration of natives to Guyanese society, inconsonant with Burnham's afrocentrist policies.

Planning for the rebellion involved a small group of 100 individuals in order to ensure secrecy. According to Guyanese diplomat Odeen Ishmael, the majority of Amerindians involved in the plot were employees of the ranchers. At a 23 December 1968 meeting, rebels finalized plans of a separated Rupununi state. The plan was to control the Rupununi region for three days, which plotters assumed would result with recognition from Venezuela. An aircraft of the Venezuelan Army was reported to have flown into Rupununi and transporting rebels into Venezuela for a week of training before being flown back to the Rupununi region on 1 January 1969.

Shortly after rebels reportedly returned from Venezuela, the operation was launched, according to Ishmael. Two other individuals were reported dead, with The New York Times writing that a total of nine people were killed.

Members of the failed uprising fled to Venezuela for protection after their plans unravelled, with Hart and her rebels being granted Venezuelan citizenship by birth since they were recognized as being born in the disputed territory that Venezuela recognized as its own and called Guayana Esequiba. The Venezuelan government later settled the leaders of the rebellion into the Gran Sabana region. The ten remaining individuals were Anaclito Alicio, Ignatius Charlie, Charles Davis, Francis James, Colin Melville, Patrick Melville, Damian Phillips, Aldwyn Singh, Brenton Singh and Handel Singh. Venezuelan Minister Iribarren Borges strongly denied the accusations that Venezuela assisted the rebels. Venezuelan Interior Affairs Minister Reinaldo Leandro Mora stated that some Guyanese individuals were provided military training in Venezuela after being encouraged by their family members. Venezuelan President Rafael Caldera and Burnham were alarmed at the uprising and vowed to focus their attentions on the issue of the territorial dispute between their two countries, leading to the Port of Spain Protocol in June 1970. Opposition leader Cheddi Jagan attempted to send two of his Amerindian personnel to the region in order to observe the situation but they were reportedly held at the airfield Lethem by GDF troops and flown back to Georgetown. Bishop of Georgetown R. Lester Guilly traveled to the area and said he witnessed no atrocities. Some Amerindians relocated as a result of the rebellion, with many moving to Brazil.