[2] Occurring less than two years after Guyana's independence from the United Kingdom, it constituted the country's earliest and most severe test of statehood and social solidarity.

"[9] According to Jackson, Venezuela established "Amerindian subordination and displacement" by arguing that indigenous peoples were not present in certain areas and demanded that Spain's own imperial claims were to be respected.

[4][12][13] Valerie Hart, a United Force politician, her two brothers, James and Elmo, and two Americans named Harry and Richard Lawrence, also led the rebellion.

"[14][15] 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.

[18] The movement, according to Venezuelan Navy officer Pedro González Caro, defended the integration of natives to Guyanese society, inconsonant with Burnham's afrocentrist policies.

[2][better source needed] The New York Times noted in an article discussing the rebellion that "Venezuela has long laid claim" to the territory that rebels attempted to secede from Guyana.

[12] News about the insurrection reached Georgetown by midday on 2 January, prompting the deployment of policemen and soldiers of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).

[2][22] In the afternoon, a small group of police and GDF troops arrived at an open airstrip 5 miles (8.0 km) away from Lethem, being fired at by rebels upon their landing.

[2][22] The night of the attack, the Hart family fled to Ciudad Bolívar, before going to Caracas to request military aid from the Venezuelan government; according to Valerie, her goal was, on behalf of the rebels, to create an independent region of Guyana.

In an effort to obtain support, Valerie explained the uprising to Iribarren Borges and said that the rebels had the intention of ceding Guyana's disputed Essequibo territory to Venezuela.

In a press statement following the meeting, Valerie would state "Venezuela must assert her rightful claim and not only the Rupununi but all the 50,000 square miles of territory of the disputed Essequibo region.

[2][3] During a jury trial in late 1969, Guyanese prosecutors presented evidence of Venezuelan armaments and oversight of the rebels, though the defense for those accused argued that his clients were under duress when they participated in the rebellion.

[12] Guyanese Prime Minister Forbes Burnham said in a radio broadcast that the rebellion was the "beginning" and that Guyana "must therefore expect further acts of aggression and intimidation from the new imperialism on our western doorstep", describing the rebels as "terrorists" trained by the Venezuelan army.

[34] 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.

"[30] According to Guyanese diplomat Odeen Ishmael, a Reuters report on 8 January said that Valerie Hart stated "If Venezuela does not intervene right now with troops they would have in their hands a situation similar to the Bay of Pigs".

[35] 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.

[2] A pilot of the Guaica airline, who stayed at Lettem, said two C-47 planes landed, Guyanese forces burned houses, tortured inhabitants and raped women.

[36][verification needed] 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.