Dear Editor,
When I read your news account, “New proposal for DEA office here,” (March 27), I got the impression that the Guyana Government was the one seriously pursuing the US DEA to set up an office in Georgetown, whereas I previously thought it was the other way around.
According to SN, the first request from our government came via former Home Affairs Minister, Feroze Mohammed in 1995, and then from the Defence Board in 1999 and again in 2005. After that the problem appeared to be related to finding a suitable building to house the DEA.
But when asked Wednesday whether his government had any intention of setting up a DEA office in Guyana, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Thomas Shannon, said he was “taking such a proposal back to the US with him,” clearly implying that President Bharrat Jagdeo made a fresh plea for help.
Look, all politics aside, this is a welcome development because it is obvious that Guyana’s poor socioeconomic conditions are ideal for dealers in cross-border narcotics smuggling and gun running, and as we all know, wherever illicit drugs and illegal guns are found, social degeneration follows.
I’m not saying that the DEA office in Georgetown will automatically eradicate the scourge, but for starters the PPP regime will finally allow many Guyanese to breathe a sigh of relief that it has nothing to hide in relation to narcotics smugglers and their money laundering front businesses that seem to pass for positive economic activity. For several years now it bothered many Guyanese that the level of corruption in government had reached the point where illicit drug money was probably buying the favours and services of government officials as certain people with little or no financial means a few years ago are now owners of expensive houses and new cars.
More specifically, questions were also raised as to whether government and police turned a blind eye to the drug running activities of former businessman and alleged drug baron, Roger Khan, in exchange for him financing the extra-judicial killings of many criminals, criminal suspects, and even those who were ‘soft targets’ of hired killers. Had the government allowed the DEA to set up shop during this particular time, would Khan have been exposed and caught?
Then there was the recent case of another Guyanese whom the US authorities have been trying to get extradited from Guyana on drugs charges. The man was hauled before the court and after some testy exchanges between prosecutors and defence attorneys, the man was freed on bail only to disappear. How can sane minds not conclude something fishy played out here?
But what has to be more disconcerting for the government at this time is the fact that the Venezuelan government was recently exposed by the Colombian government for offering a Colombian guerrilla group (FARC) US$300 million to sustain its activities that included promoting Marxist-based armed struggle in Colombia and dabbling in the narcotics smuggling business. Yes, the same Venezuelan government that is seeking to promote its Bolivarian Revolution by luring Guyana and regional neighbours into oil-based economic deals so they can stop doing business with the United States. Guyana needs all the help it can get to turn around its economy, and since Venezuela is intent on blocking us in our Northwest oil ventures, then we need to align with friends who can help defend us and help make our economic dreams a reality.
Colombia has gotten over US$5 billion in US aid to help fight the growth and shipment of cocaine. Venezuela this week is promising to spend billions in Brazil to set up oil refineries in 2010. Suriname, a few months ago, signed on to a nuclear development plan with foreign help. But where is Guyana’s share of the pie being doled out?
Mr Editor, the DEA office deal is more than just about narcotics; it’s about the economy that has the potential to do better and so help Guyanese do better. It’s about time we have bigger and better deals that benefit all and not just a handful.
Yours faithfully,
Emile Mervin
