Latest update March 31st, 2025 6:44 AM
Latest News
- ExxonM and CNOOC sticking to 11B barrels figure in Stabroek Block, but Hess says estimate higher
- Deadly Israeli strikes mar Gaza Eid celebrations
- Govt. to roll out automated speed ticketing system next week
- Bandits push down guard, rob Chinese nationals of over $1M in cash, other items
- Omai increases gold pit drilling
Collaborations facilitating increased drug busts – US Charge d’Affaires
By Zena Henry
Guyana has been making serious moves towards addressing the country’s narcotics situation, specifically the movement of illegal substances within the country’s borders and its subsequent shipment to international ports.
Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett had signed a Letter of Agreement with US Ambassador Brent Hardt last year on Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement.
With reports such as the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) released by the US State Department in 2011 dubbing Guyana a transshipment point for cocaine from countries such as Colombia and Venezuela, destined for North America, Europe, and the Caribbean, the United States has continuously offered to work with the country to remedy this aspect.
With the report stating also that Guyana has shown marginal commitment to tackle the problem, the US has offered technical and financial support for Guyana to detect and address drug-related situations.
One effective strategy employed by the Americans; is the placement of Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) ranks based here at the local Embassy. The aim is to have the prominent American anti-drug bureau here support local security agencies in various aspects of narcotics control.
The Embassy saw it necessary for agents to have a permanent base at the local Embassy since the country was receiving information from those stationed in the twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. Currently, a few of those anti-drug ranks are here in Guyana, US Charge d’Affaires, Bryan Hunt told this newspaper during an interview on Monday.
He said that the agents here are on temporary duty assignment, while those for permanent replacements are in the process of recruitment. How soon those permanent officers will be in the country, depends on the internal hiring process within Drug Enforcement Administration, he stated.
Hunt has reported however, “good successes” between the Embassy and local agencies. He in fact celebrated a number of recent drug interceptions and attributed the successes to the closeness of the agencies.
Hunt said that the DEA’s primary strategy at this moment relies on two key pivotal points.
“We believe it is most effective to intercept a cocaine shipment when it is moving along Guyana’s internal waterway or when it reaches the port of departure, whether it is the airport or the port itself.”
Hunt mentioned several high-profile seizures; including most recently, a Europe-bound vessel intercepted on the Demerara River at Linden and the semi-submersible vessel seized close to the Venezuelan border.
“If you follow a number of seizures that are happening at the airport, in particular the ports of departure, both on the cargo and passenger side, all of that is indicative of the collaboration that we now have.”
The diplomat said that the Embassy, via the US agents, is helping to provide intelligence to the various law enforcement agencies here.
The DEA possesses a global network so it has the ability to obtain information that might otherwise not be available to the Guyana government.
“We are providing training on search and seizure methodologies as to how best to go about profiling at-risk cargo or at-risk passengers; how best to screen to detect when drugs are moving through the ports, and how best to generate local intelligence, so that they have a better idea of what is moving along the waterways.”
The Embassy has also worked close with the Coast Guard to set up the metal shark programme, where they donated boats and others were purchased by the government.
Former US Ambassador to Guyana Brent Hardt had emphasized a greater need for inter-agency collaboration to fight against narco-trafficking, and had reported on talks with the government to establish the DEA unit here.
He had stressed too, the nation’s porous borders, which make it easy for cargo of drug cartels to enter the country.
His comments had come days after Guyana was implicated as a drug port for players in a major drug smuggling ring infiltrated by anti-drug units in the United States and Italy last February.
Guyana has had a number of drug busts in the past months; numerous inceptions occurring at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. The most recent being a 192-kilo coke bust and the detention and subsequent fining of the company which owns the cargo ship MV DELTADIEP.
Hunt reminded however, that DEA law enforcement personnel operating here work integrally with the customs anti-narcotics unit, the police force, anti narcotics force and other local agencies involved in aspects of drug trafficking like the special organized crime unit. They are not involved in arrests or such operations.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
Choosing between bad and worse
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- I’ve always had an aversion to elections, which I suppose is natural for someone who... more
The U.S. “Joining” the Commonwealth: an unreasonable expectation
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News- Recent media stories have suggested that King Charles III could “invite” the United... more
Weekend Cartoon
