US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is due to visit Guyana on September 17-18, according to well-places sources.
He would be the highest-ranked US government official to visit Guyana in decades.
The visit would come amid the personal role he played in ensuring that the legally elected government from the March 2nd general elections was sworn into office.
The two-day trip would be seen as an expression of confidence in the PPP/C government and a signal of deeper cooperation between the two countries.
The visit also comes in the backdrop of pivotal local discussions on a key ExxonMobil development and continuing tension between Washington and Guyana’s neighbour, Venezuela.
Pompeo on July 15 this year famously 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.
He added: “In my public statements since the election I have been very clear that the United States stands with the Guyanese people and that there would be consequences for individuals who seek to undermine democracy. The events following the March 2 elections indicate that there are forces that have repeatedly refused to accept the will of the people at the ballot box. Guyana’s non-democratic trajectory is dangerous for its citizens and for the hemisphere as a whole. I hope that Guyana’s leaders understand what is at stake if they continue down this path.
“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”.
