Dear Editor,
Heroin is being transshipped through Guyana, according to the compilers of the Global Organized Crime Index, in this, we are being asked to believe that a product from Asia is being shipped to South America for onward distribution to Europe and North America; not a great business model. Sadly, this is typical of the report as it contains sweeping statements with little factual basis, and, instead of helping those in authority to combat organized crime, the report throws up so many red herrings as to be rendered useless in entirety. We can take a quick look at a few areas to demonstrate.
1. Arms trafficking, the GOCI claim “is facilitated by the security forces and profits benefit Brazilian gangs”. Most of the arms seized in Guyana originate from the USA, and, there is no evidence of any Brazilian gang operating in Guyana. Had the report dealt with the “Syndicatos’ of Venezuela who operate in the border towns, it would have been helpful.
2. GCOI claims “Deforestation is driven by gold mining, infrastructure, logging, and agriculture, with foreign demand and profits being extracted externally. Verification systems are essential to prevent illegal logging and export of illegally deforested timber”. In December 2022 Guyana was issued the world’s first TREES credits, the first time a country has been issued carbon credits specifically designed for the voluntary and compliant carbon markets for successfully preventing forest loss and degradation — a process known as jurisdictional REDD+.
3. The aforementioned Heroin transshipment. Bunkum, why would any organization ship from Asia to Guyana when they could pack the product on donkeys and walk it into Europe?
4. GOCI claims among our ills are human trafficking, local gangs, corrupt politicians, ethnic-dominated government, sex trafficking, procurement fraud, oil money mismanagement (of course), elite wealth distribution, sexual slavery, and on and on…
Editor, it is as if the compilers of this report threw the proverbial ‘kitchen sink’ at the report in the hope that at least some of it is true and/or sticks. Guyana has crime; there is evidence of cocaine transshipment (through CANU seizures) of marijuana shipments to Barbados and imports from the USA, and prostitution by locals and foreigners.
What we don’t have is organized gangs, heroin, sexual slavery, deforestation, et al. People are paid good money to research and compile these reports and should they do the work, these reports can be a most useful tool for law and order forces. In the absence of work ethic we are left with a national ‘black eye’ and no fix available. We sure as heck can’t find any heroin to interdict and, no doubt the next report will say “Guyana fails to stop heroin transshipments” it is the self-propagating nature of these ‘reports’ that galls the most.
Sincerely,
Robin Singh
