President Bharrat Jagdeo says he has requested yet again the assistance of the US government in setting up a Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) office in Guyana, and also for radar coverage in the country’s jungles to detect illegal airstrips.
Speaking with reporters at a press conference in Trinidad on Saturday night at the Fifth Summit of the Americas, he said that talks with the US representatives were meaningful and that he has sought their assistance for support in critical areas in the country.
The DEA office, which had been the subject of discussion for some time, came up and another request was made, according to Jagdeo. He said that the US appears willing to help in that area, and also in the areas of strengthening the extradition laws in Guyana.
He said that there is critical need for radar coverage in the jungles in the country because there are illegal airstrips that his administration is not aware of, adding that radar coverage from the US would help in detecting them.
Jagdeo said also that he hopes the partnership would result in tougher extradition laws because of “a ruling by our courts in Guyana”. He made no specific mention of which ruling, but recently US drug accused Barry Dataram was released by the courts because the law would be breached if his extradition to the US enabled transfers to third countries.
