Latest update September 15th, 2026 10:20 AM
Apr 23, 2023 News
– US visa reportedly revoked, declines to comment
Kaieteur News – Permanent Secretary of the Home Affairs Ministry, Mae Toussaint Thomas has returned to Guyana after she was days ago detained for questioning and had her cell phone confiscated by the United States (US) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers at the Miami International Airport.
According to reports circulating in the media, Thomas’s US visa was revoked by the US agency and she had to return to Guyana via another transit route. Reports also suggest that she was handcuffed and physically harassed during a three-hour-long detention.
Kaieteur News on Saturday contacted PS Thomas to confirm the reports but she declined to comment and referred reporters to the subject ministers dealing with the case.
Kaieteur News called two Ministers, the Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, and Guyana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Hugh Todd to no avail. Benn declined Kaieteur News’ call while Todd’s phone rang out.
WhatsApp messages were also sent to their phones but up to press time, no response was provided.
This newspaper was able to confirm on Friday that Thomas’s phone was taken away from her while she was enroute to China.
The Ministry of Home Affairs is yet to make a public statement on the matter but Kaieteur News understands that Thomas was not traveling on official government business.
Her phone, according to US authorities, was taken away during an inspection by the officers.
The CBP officers have the authority to search a traveler’s electronic device whether it is a cell phone or laptop if they need to verify certain information after an interview on the reasons for their travel.
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It’s just the USA’s way of bullying and intimidating others who do business with China. I’m surprised the same treatment didn’t happen in the UK as they are a US surrogate.