Camp Tigri or Camp Jaguar is a military camp and

airstrip An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

located in the

Tigri Area The Tigri Area () or New River Triangle is a forested area in the East Berbice-Corentyne region of Guyana that has been disputed by Suriname since the 19th century. In Suriname, it is seen as an integral part of the Coeroeni Resort located i ...

. The area is disputed between

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

and

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

. Camp Tigri was constructed in 1968 by the Surinamese Defence Police. On 19 August 1969 there was a skirmish between the Defence Police and the

Guyana Defence Force The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) is the military of Guyana, established in 1965. It has military bases across the nation. The Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Force is always the incumbent President of Guyana. The branches include the Army, Air F ...

during which Camp Tigri was captured. The camp was subsequently renamed to Camp Jaguar. It is located about north of the indigenous village of

Kasuela Kasuela (also Cashew Island, Kasjoe Eiland and Casuela) is an indigenous village of the Tiriyó people in the East Berbice-Corentyne region of Guyana. The village has a population of about 80 people. The inhabitants are of the subgroup or the Frog ...

History

In 1871 a dispute arose between

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

regarding the border between

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...

and

. Great Britain considered the

Kutari River Kutari River, also called ''Cutari Rivier'', ''Kutari Creek'' or ''Cutari Creek'', is a small river on the southeastern border of Guyana and the southwestern region of Suriname. The location of the river is part of the disputed Tigri Area in the ...

the border river while the Netherlands disagreed and argued that the New River constituted the border. There were several attempts at negotiation, however the ''

status quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, economic, legal, environmental, political, religious, scientific or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the curren ...

'' remained. In 1961, the

Coeroenie Airstrip Coeroeni Airstrip is an airstrip located near Kuruni (variant spellings: ''Coeroeni'', ''Coeroenie'', or ''Curuni'') in Suriname. It was constructed as part of Operation Grasshopper. The Airstrip is in the vicinity of the disputed border area ...

was built by Suriname on the edge of the Tigri Area. On 26 May 1966, British Guiana gained independence as

, and the friendly relations between Suriname and Guyana rapidly deteriorated. In June 1966, the negotiations between the Netherlands, Guyana and Great Britain regarding the border broke down. In 1967, Surinamese workers of the Bureau Waterkrachtwerken (Office of Hydroelectric Works) arrived in Camp Oronoque, a camp on the

Oronoque River The Oronoque River is a river in Guyana and a tributary of the New River. The river is located in the Tigri Area which is disputed between Guyana and Suriname. The source was discovered in September 1936, and is considered the international boun ...

which was built in 1936, to construct a

weir A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

. On 10 December 1967, a

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tech ...

landed, and the pilot told the workers that they were trespassing on Guyanese soil. The remark was ignored, and the pilot left. On 12 December, four armed policemen arrived and ordered the workmen to leave the area. The workmen subsequently left. The Surinamese government requested military assistance from the Netherlands which was refused. In 1968, the Defence Police was established by the Surinamese prime minister

Jopie Pengel Johan Adolf "Jopie" Pengel (20 January 1916 – 5 June 1970) was a Surinamese politician, and prime minister of Suriname from 30 June 1963 to 5 March 1969 for the National Party of Suriname (NPS). Biography Pengel was born in Paramaribo on 20 Ja ...

and mainly consisted of former soldiers of the Netherlands Armed Forces in Suriname (TRIS). Four camps were established which included Camp Tigri near rapids of the

Courantyne River The Courantyne River ( ), also known as Corentyne and Corantijn (), is a river in northern South America in Suriname and Guyana. It is the longest List of rivers of Suriname, river in the country and creates the border between Suriname and the Eas ...

. On 19 August 1969, two airplanes of the

(GDF) landed in the vicinity of the camp. An exchange of gunfire followed. There were no casualties or wounded, but Margo van Dams was captured by Guyana. The GDF conquered the camp, and changed the name to Camp Jaguar. Van Dams was later released. The existence of Camp Jaguar used to be officially denied. In 2014, a soldier drowned when his boat capsized, and the existence of the military camp was confirmed. Since then, Camp Jaguar is mentioned in the press. An airstrip is located south of the camp.

References

{{Authority control Barracks in Suriname Guyanese Army installations Tigri Area Airports in Suriname Airports in Guyana 1968 establishments in Suriname Conflicts in 1969