Fifty Haitian nationals, including two children, were found on Sunday by law enforcement officials along the Lethem trail.
Attorney General Anil Nandlall, when contacted by Stabroek News, stated that the nationals are now in the care of the police and headed for the city.
The nationals claimed that they were deserted after refusing to pay higher than agreed on fees for transportation to the border.
Nandlall stated that the treatment faced by the nationals was cruel and inhumane as he made mention of the suffering they faced. Saying that they were victims of people smuggling, he noted that the wrongdoing was well-organised and involved plenty of cash.
While it is unclear where the nationals were headed, the Attorney General said “for a government not to act would be an unfortunate derogation of responsibility.”
He noted that there is no definite figure of the amount of Haitian nationals who enter the country with no record of ever leaving, as he explained that the situation makes it difficult for the government to know the real amount of cases of such a nature.
President Irfaan Ali last week officially revoked the order under the Immigration Act that allowed Haitian nationals visa-free travel to Guyana.
An order, signed by the president and published in an Extraordinary edition of the Official Gazette on June 22, 2021, states that the Immigration Order of 2019 is revoked in its entirety with immediate effect.
In January 2019, then President David Granger signed the immigration order for Haiti to be added to the list of countries whose nationals could travel to Guyana without any visa requirement.
Ali’s revocation came hours after Nandlall announced that government would be implementing a visa requirement for Haitians and Cubans as a condition of entry into Guyana.
Over time, concerns have been raised by the governing party over the movement of Haitian nationals into and out of Guyana. It has been suspected that their movement is linked to a well-organised human smuggling ring in which Guyana is used as a transshipment destination.
Nandlall said the suspected human smuggling activities have long raised concerns as many of the Haitians and, in some cases, Cubans, do not leave Guyana via the legal channels.
