Guyana wants ‘more walk, less talk’ from US in drug fight - Luncheon

Guyana wants ‘more walk, less talk’ from US in drug fight – Luncheon

Mar 04, 2010 News

The Guyana Government wants to see “more walk” and “less talk” from the United States to help fight drugs, Secretary to the Cabinet, Dr Roger Luncheon, declared yesterday.
He was responding to the latest United States drugs report on Guyana. Luncheon said given the latest report, expectations of the new US Administration providing constructive criticism is dwindling.
He said that Guyana cannot continue bearing the brunt of these one-sided criticisms on the drugs fight when the narco-trade is fuelled by demand and consumption from the United States.
“Guyana needs more assistance,” Luncheon declared, pointing to the need for greater information flows, technology transfers and greater collaboration at the bilateral level.
The US State Department 2010 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report lists Guyana as a transit point for cocaine destined for North America, Europe, West Africa, and the Caribbean, “but not in quantities sufficient to impact the U.S. market.”
The Report said cooperation among law enforcement bodies is gradually improving, albeit through personal relationships as much as official mechanisms.
Luncheon said information from the US is not very forthcoming, and pointed to the case of the “terrorist” that the Guyana Government believes is hiding out in the United States.
The “terrorist” who the government refuses to name, is said to have masterminded the destruction of the Ministry of Health headquarters last year.
Dr Luncheon said that the Guyana Government is concerned that the US has not provided “sustained support” to give maximum effect to the interventions it seeks to make such as legislative initiatives and integrity testing.
In 2009, the US report stated that domestic seizures of cocaine and cannabis eradication increased compared with modest levels in 2008, although total quantities seized or eradicated remain small when considered against the overall trade.
Weak border controls and limited resources for law enforcement continue to allow drug traffickers to move shipments via river, air, and land with minimal resistance, the report stated.
The report took note of the fact that the United Kingdom terminated a major security sector reform program in 2009 over lack of progress by the Guyana government on key requirements of the plan. Guyana is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
Dr Luncheon said with the withdrawal of British funding for the plan, aspects of the plan will be implemented through budget spending.
As a matter of policy, the report noted that the government does not encourage or facilitate the illicit production or distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances, or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions.
US Government analysts believe drug trafficking organizations in Guyana continue to elude law enforcement agencies through bribes and coercion.
Guyana is party to the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption (IACAC), but has yet to fully implement its provisions, such as seizure of property obtained through corruption, the report noted.
Guyana is also party to the UN Convention against Corruption. US law enforcement authorities say that Guyanese narcotics traffickers regularly move shipments of cocaine through the country.
Some cannabis cultivated in Guyana is also smuggled out of the country, although in more modest quantities. Guyana’s uncontrolled borders and coastline allow unfettered drug transit.
The report added that light aircraft land at numerous isolated airstrips or make airdrops where operatives on the ground retrieve the drugs.
Smugglers use small boats and freighters to enter Guyana’s many remote but navigable rivers and also take direct routes, such as driving or boating across the borders with Brazil, Suriname, and Venezuela, the report stated.
The Guyana Defense Force Coast Guard does not have any seaworthy vessels, as its lone patrol boat is currently in dry dock awaiting repairs, the report stated.
Once inside the country, narcotics are transported to Georgetown by road, water, or air and then sent on to the Caribbean, North America, or Europe via commercial air carriers or cargo ships, the report noted.

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