Dear Editor,
With the news swirling of a terror mastermind in the USA coordinating or having some involvement in the recent crime blitz President Jagdeo publicly stated that he met with US officials and urged them to hand over information about convicted drug trafficker Roger Khan, the infamous spy equipment, and on this terrorist mastermind “as soon as possible.” The President then used the hypothetical example of how the USA would pressure Guyana to locate and deliver a Guyanese who made a call to a terrorist in the USA just before the terrorist attacked a US federal building and how Guyana would be swarming with FBI agents. Well, one can certainly understand the pressure that will be exerted by the US government in that scenario. Regarding the storm of FBI agents, we have yet to see a single FBI or DEA agent allowed in Guyana to fight the narco-terrorists targeting American schools, families and its entire society.
The US authorities have responded expeditiously to Guyana’s request and have confirmed that an investigation is underway with respect to the possible criminal mastermind. Guyana can rest assured that the world’s most sophisticated anti-terror network is following the lead within the rule of law and with due process. However, the fact that nothing has surfaced as yet is puzzling given the reach of the US justice network. The spirit of cooperation and the treaty obligation prescribed by the Inter-American Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters have been established and fulfilled. The grave hypocrisy in this matter is President Jagdeo’s request for information about the spy equipment and Roger Khan. When the US named Shaheed ‘Roger’ Khan as a drug trafficker nothing happened. Does the administra-tion believe that by parroting the line about a request to the US for information on Roger Khan and the spy equipment the public will be fooled into deeming the US administration as stalling and as responsible for the post-Khan mess? When is Guyana going to investigate, seek and deliver the criminals living as captains of industry within its land for crimes they commit in the USA?
As expected, the USA will cooperate on the issue of the criminal mastermind but it will not provide any information to Guyana regarding the Roger Khan affair. The Roger Khan information is still live prosecutable data. There is no plausible evidence that Khan’s activities will ever be probed or if so in any voracious manner. The release of this information by the USA may endanger its ongoing investigations, thwart future indictments and convictions and cost lives in Guyana. The USA should release nothing to the Guyana government regarding the Roger Khan affair.
Yours faithfully,
Michael Maxwell