Camp Tigri or Camp Jaguar is a military camp and

airstrip An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) 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 publ ...

located in the

Tigri Area The Tigri Area ( nl, Tigri-gebied) is a wooded area that has been disputed by Guyana and Suriname since around 1840. It involves the area between the Upper Corentyne River (also called the New River), the Coeroeni River, and the Kutari River ...

. The area is disputed between

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

and

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

. 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. History The GDF was formed on 1 Nove ...

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 northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

regarding the border between

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

and

. Great Britain considered the

Kutari River Kutari River, also called ''Cutari Rivier'', ''Kutari Creek'' or ''Cutari Creek'', is a small river at the South East of the Tigri Area in the extreme South of Suriname. The river has its source in the Acarai Mountains that border Brazil.Ewan W. ...

the border river while the Netherlands was of the opinion 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, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. W ...

'' 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. Charters and destinations Charter Airlines serving this air ...

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 b ...

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 river 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 tec ...

landed, and the pilot told the workers that they were trespassing on Guyanan 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 Jan ...

and mainly consisted of former soldiers of the

Netherlands Armed Forces in Suriname The Netherlands Armed Forces in Suriname (''Troepenmacht in Suriname''; TRIS, ) was the military force maintained by the Kingdom of the Netherlands in its colony of Suriname (later known as the constituent country of Suriname), in the are ...

(TRIS). Four camps were established which included Camp Tigri near rapids of the

Courantyne River The Courantyne/Corentyne/Corantijn River is a river in northern South America in Suriname and Guyana. It is the longest river in the country and creates the border between Suriname and the East Berbice-Corentyne region of Guyana. Its tributarie ...

. 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