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Home >> News>> US says it can do more in drug-plagued Guyana
US says it can do more
in drug-plagued Guyana
March 28, 2008
Caribbean Net News
GEORGETOWN, Guyana
(Reuters): The United
States could do more to
help fight drug
trafficking in Guyana, a
top US official said on
Wednesday, weeks after a
State Department report
criticized the CARICOM
nation for its drug
record.
Thomas Shannon, a top
State Department
diplomat for Latin
America, said Washington
needed to work more
closely with Guyana and
other Caribbean
countries to tackle
trafficking.
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US Assistant
Secretary of
State Tom
Shannon. |
Guyana, a poor
English-speaking nation
with a long coastline,
is an easy target for
traffickers who use it
as a shipment point to
the Caribbean, the
United States and
Europe.
"There is more we can
do", Shannon said on a
visit to Guyana. He
promised to pass on a
request for a permanent
presence of the US Drug
Enforcement
Administration in the
country.
"We need to find a
better way to work
together and to share
information" he said.
Shannon also called for
an integrated regional
approach to the problem
to block drug
traffickers from
exploiting gaps in the
law enforcement efforts.
In its annual narcotics
report published this
month, the State
Department described
cooperation between
Guyana's law enforcement
as fragmented and
unproductive.
"Weak border controls
and limited resources
for law enforcement
allow drug traffickers
to move shipments via
river, air and land
without meaningful
resistance," the report
said.
US anti-drug agencies do
not know how much
cocaine passes through
the country.
Guyanese President
Bharrat Jagdeo responded
to the report by asking
for more resources and
support.
Washington is critical
of the anti-drug efforts
of Venezuela, which lies
between Guyana and major
cocaine producer
Colombia, accusing the
left-wing government of
President Hugo Chavez of
not doing enough to stop
smuggling.
Chavez refuses to sign
an anti-drug cooperation
agreement with
Washington, although
Venezuela frequently
extradites Colombians
accused of drug crimes
to the United States.
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