The United States is still hoping for more cooperation and progress in Guyana’s fight against drug trafficking, while finding little change in the local response over the last year, according to the 2015 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report that was released on Wednesday.
The latest annual report to Congress by the US Department of State is almost virtually identical to the one released in the two preceding years, where it stated that it would welcome “increased levels of cooperation” with the Government of Guyana to advance mutual interests against the threat of drug trafficking. It also again restated that it was looking forward to “tangible progress” in investigations, prosecutions, extraditions, security sector enhancement, the engagement of at-risk communities, and enforcement of laws against money laundering and financial crimes.
The report noted that Guyana continues to be a transit point for cocaine destined for the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe and West Africa, as traffickers are attracted by the country’s poorly monitored ports, remote airstrips, intricate river networks, porous land borders, and weak security sector capacity.
It said cocaine originating in Colombia is smuggled to Venezuela and onward to Guyana by sea or air. Smugglers, the report said, also transit land borders with Brazil, Venezuela and Suriname, while cocaine is often concealed in legitimate commodities and smuggled via commercial maritime vessels, air transport, human couriers, or various postal methods.
It also reiterated that the influence of narcotics trafficking is evident in the political and criminal justice system.
Once again, the report highlighted that while the government has legislation in place that could enable a more effective response to the threat of drug trafficking, to date it is yet to seek any prosecutions under those laws. The laws are the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act of 2009, the Interception of Communication Act of 2008 and the Criminal Law Procedure Act, which was revised in 1998.
Guyana being identified as a money laundering and terrorist financing risk to the international financial system by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, after it failed to amend its anti-money laundering laws, was also noted in the report. It said the country is now under targeted review by the task force but that the authorities have pledged to increase its efforts to comply with international anti-money laundering standards and have presented amendments in Parliament to improve the existing legislation. The US said it supports the government’s efforts in this area and has offered technical support.
The report also drew attention to the fact that while in 2012, with US funding through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), a Container Control Programme (CCP) Port Control Unit was established at the John Fernandes Wharf, it is yet to make any successful seizures of narcotics. The UN Office on Drugs and Crimes’ CCP, through which the unit was set up, is working with the authorities here to improve the unit’s effectiveness, it added. Like last year, the report said government is drafting anti-gang legislation. One noted development, however, was the implementation of an Integrated Crime Information System to monitor trends in crime through a network linking the Ministry of Home Affairs to the public hospitals, prisons, and police stations. Some police stations in remote areas, it however reiterated, continue to lack reliable telecommunication service.
The report said the government is drafting a new Drug Strategy Plan (2013-2017), and the government’s Inter-Agency Task Force on Narcotics and Illicit Weapons is reviewing an inception report. “A Special Organized Crime Unit was established in June to investigate suspected money laundering crimes and prosecute persons suspected of terrorism and financial offences. The unit has been partially staffed and has begun initial training,” it added.
For first six months of last year, according to the report, the major drug fighting agencies reported drug-related seizures and convictions. The police reported seizing 92.77 kilogrammes (kg) of cocaine and 339.95 kg of cannabis. CANU reported 75.84kg of cocaine being seized and 10kg of cannabis. Some 110 persons were convicted of drugs related charges during that time.
The report mentioned the discovery of the self-propelled semi-submersible craft under construction in Waini, North West District last year. It said the submarine was constructed for the oceanic trafficking of cocaine and is believed to have belonged to a foreign narcotics organisation. It also said that the construction facility at which the sub was built is likely to have been used for the construction of similar vessels.
Meanwhile, the report again restated that Guyana lacks a robust demand reduction strategy that adequately addresses drug rehabilitation. It said that as part of the CBSI, the US supports a ‘Skills and Knowledge for Youth Employment’ project that provides vulnerable youth with alternatives to drug-related activities and provides skills for transitioning to the work force.
On the issue of corruption, the report said as a matter of policy the Guyana Government does not encourage or facilitate the illicit production or distribution of narcotics or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances or the laundering or proceeds from illegal drug transaction. However, while the country is party to the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, it has not fully implemented its provisions, such as the seizure of property obtained through corruption.
The US said it supports a wide range of efforts designed to address crime and violence affected Guyanese citizens, primarily through the CBSI, which is a security partnership between the US and Caribbean nations that seeks to substantially reduce illicit trafficking, advance public safety and citizen security, and promote justice.
Further it stated that efforts to increase law enforcement capabilities, protect borders and ports, strengthen workforce development, and promote anti-money laundering effectiveness directly address priority concerns shared by the two governments. The US said that by strengthening Guyana’s counter narcotics capabilities it seeks to enhance inter-agency cooperation and help gather better intelligence on drug trafficking routes.
The INCSR is an annual report by the Department of State to Congress prepared in accordance with the Foreign Assistance Act. It describes the efforts of key countries to attack all aspects of the international drug trade in each calendar year.
