U.S. hails relationship with Guyana to combat narcotics trafficking

Jun 08, 2025 News

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…but says corruption in Guyana poses a significant hurdle

Kaieteur News – The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has recognised Guyana as a key partner in the fight against international narcotics trafficking but warned that corruption within the country remains a serious obstacle to ongoing efforts.

On Thursday, it was announced that a senior officer of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) landed on OFAC’s sanctions list, along with three other Guyanese and two Colombians, for allegedly trafficking drugs from South America to the United States, Europe and other destinations through Guyana.

OFAC updated its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) list, naming the 37-year-old Senior Superintendent Himnauth Sawh, as well as businessman Paul Daby Jr., 40, also known as “Daby Ramsuchit”, “Paul”, “Rondell” and “Randell” of Georgetown; Mark Cromwell, 43, known as “Demon” and “Diamond” of Lot 40 Vigilance, East Coast Demerara, and Lot 10 Buxton, ECD; and 50-year-old Randolph Duncan for drug trafficking.

The agency said the individuals used aircraft, covert airstrips, boats, and narco-submarines to smuggle large shipments of cocaine.

The U.S. Treasury stated that for decades, drug traffickers, including Mexican cartels, have exploited Guyana as a transhipment point, using its geographic location and reported corruption at ports and borders to facilitate the flow of cocaine.

“Today’s action is a strong signal that this administration will continue to take the fight to the cartels, regardless of where they are located,” said Deputy Secretary Michael Faulkender.

He added, “Treasury will continue to expose the criminal networks that allow for drugs to be trafficked into the United States, and work closely with our law enforcement colleagues and the Government of Guyana to disrupt the cartels wherever they operate.”

Despite growing cooperation with Guyana, the statement pointed to persistent challenges. According to the 2025 U.S. State Department International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, while Guyana remains a close partner in combating narcotics trafficking, corruption in Guyana poses a significant obstacle to its efforts to combat drug trafficking.

OFAC stressed that the country’s location near major drug-producing nations like Colombia and Venezuela, and its porous borders and jungles, provide ideal conditions for traffickers. Guyana’s rivers and coastline are also exploited by smugglers using so-called narco-submarines, which often go undetected. OFAC noted that traffickers are also operating clandestine airstrips in remote areas to move drugs by aircraft.

In recent years, the U.S. has collaborated closely with Guyanese law enforcement in several major busts.

In March 2025, a cargo vessel originating in Guyana was discovered by police in the waters of Trinidad and Tobago with approximately 182 kilograms of cocaine. Cocaine packages stamped with the Toyota logo, a known trademark of the Sinaloa Cartel, were found on board the cargo vessel. It was stated that Mexican drug cartels are known for having a presence in Guyana.

On February 20, 2025, the State Department identified the Sinaloa Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).  Prior to its designation as an FTO, OFAC sanctioned the Sinaloa Cartel on April 15, 2009, pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act) for playing a significant role in international narcotics trafficking.  On December 15, 2021, OFAC also designated the Sinaloa Cartel.

On March 21, 2024, U.S. and Guyanese law enforcement seized 2,370 kilograms of cocaine in a self-propelled semi-submersible approximately 150 miles off the coast of Guyana.

In August 2024, Guyanese authorities, with support from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), discovered 4.4 tons of cocaine in a clandestine airfield in the northwest region of Guyana known as Barima-Waini, or Region One, which shares a border with Venezuela. The cocaine was buried in underground bunkers about six feet deep. Following this drug bust, Senior Superintendent Sawh, who was Commander for Region One, was transferred from his post there. He was on the job until June 5th, after the sanctions were announced, he was sent on administrative leave.

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• drugs, Foreign Assets Control, OFAC, Paul Daby Jr., sanctions, Senior Superintendent Himnauth Sawh, Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons, trafficking

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