The United States yesterday announced that additional “senior individuals” from Guyana will be prevented from entering the country for undermining democracy.
Acting Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Michael Kozak spoke at the State Department on the Administration’s efforts to promote democracy in the Western Hemisphere.
He announced travel restrictions in addition to those of July 15th which had been announced by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
In his opening remarks, Kozak said: “Today, the vast majority of the countries in the Americas and the Caribbean are democracies. We’re getting ever closer to the ideal that OAS member-states committed to when they signed the Inter-American Democratic Charter in 2001. We’ve been working with our partners and through the OAS to stand up for democracy where it is under threat, and at the same time we’re trying to turn the tide in those countries where democracy is but a dream.
“On July 15, the Secretary announced the imposition of visa restrictions on individuals responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy in Guyana. Today, we are acting to prevent additional senior individuals from that country from entering the United States. The Secretary’s been clear: The Granger administration and its allies continue to defy the will of the Guyanese people by refusing to accept the vote count. The count has been certified as valid by international observers OAS and CARICOM, Guyana’s and the Caribbean’s highest courts. The United States joins the rest of the region refusing to go along with this farce. We will continue to act until the Granger administration accepts the will of Guyanese voters”.
At question time, Kozak faced the embarrassment of how the US position on Guyana and other countries could be reconciled with President Donald Trump floating the possibility of a postponement of the US elections which is constitutionally fixed for November.
Beatriz Pascual with Spanish news agency EFE asked: “Today, the (US) President floated the idea of delaying the November election. What message do you think that sends to U.S. neighbours in Latin America like Guyana or Bolivia? Thank you”.
Kozak’s reply was “Okay. Well, I’m not going to comment on our President’s comments about domestic matters. I would refer you to the White House on that”.
On July 15, Pompeo announced visa restrictions on individuals undermining democracy here and said that the Granger administration must respect the results of democratic elections and step aside.
Pompeo, speaking at the State Department in Washington, said that immediate family members of these individuals could also be affected.
“Today, I am announcing visa restrictions on individuals responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy in Guyana. Immediate family members of such persons may also be subject to restrictions. The Granger Government must respect the result of democratic elections and step aside”, he said.
Pompeo did not provide names but the US government has repeatedly warned that a variety of sanctions could come if the government failed to comply with the tenets of free and fair elections.
Those individuals to be targeted will likely include government officials who have tried to prevent the declaration of the recount result and officials within GECOM who have been actively trying to rig elections in favour of the incumbent APNU+AFC. Thus far, no government or electoral official here has acknowledged having their visa rescinded.
Pompeo had also said: “This action is not about interference. It is to send a clear message of the consequences of subverting democracy and the rule of law, which poses a danger to us and our hemispheric partners. We have long said that we have no preference for a winning party, as long as it is selected through a free and fair electoral process that is credible”.
