Govt. taking steps to set-up border patrol unit

Nov 11, 2023 News

– AG says new bill to be tabled soon

Kaieteur News – The Government of Guyana is moving to establish a special border patrol unit and the legal framework to underpin is being worked on by the Attorney General Chambers.

According to Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall SC, the Border Patrol Bill will soon be presented to the National Assembly.

During his ‘Issues in the News’ programme on Tuesday evening, Nandlall said the bill aims to establish a framework for bolstering Guyana’s border security. “This bill is intended to create a framework for officers to be appointed, and who will perform specific functions in relation to protecting, monitoring, guarding and patrolling our borders.”

This bill was drafted even before this referendum and before the heightened provocative actions of Venezuela. I believe the bill has now assumed paramount importance.” Nandlall added further that “The Border Patrol Bill seeks to create a group dedicated to border patrol and protection, as well as border monitoring. Working alongside the Guyana Defence Force and the Guyana Police Force, this additional mechanism strengthens our capacity to protect our territorial integrity, particularly in vast border areas.”

Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, SC

The Border Patrol Bill has been two years in the making. During his budget 2021 presentation, Nandlall had announced that the government’s intention to draft the Bill to facilitate the establishment of a border patrol unit. He said, “From a defence point of view, in order to strengthen our ability to protect our borders, a Bill is being drafted for the establishment of a Border Patrol Unit which will supplement the Guyana Police Force and Guyana Defence Force in securing and protecting our borders.”

Guyana’s borders are porous, and this has resulted in a particularly unmanageable influx of Venezuelan refugees, numbering in the thousands.

The need to monitor the borders is even more pronounced, now that Venezuela is escalating tensions with its claims over the Essequibo region.

In addition to a proposal to include Essequibo in Venezuela’s Constitution, a powerful Venezuelan lawmaker named Hermann Escarrá had announced that Venezuela intends to carry out military exercises in the region. Escarrá, who is the Chairman of Venezuela’s ‘Special Commission for the Defence of the Guyana Esequiba Territory and Territorial Sovereignty’, met with the country’s military commanders and Defence Minister to discuss the country’s next move.

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Anil Nandlall, Attorney General, Issues in the News, Legal framework, SC, set-up border patrol unit

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