Guyana, US to sign maritime patrol pact

The Guyana Government will be signing a maritime patrol agreement with the United States to guard against narcotics and other regional security threats.

This will be done during the high-profile visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is expected to arrive in Georgetown today.

During a briefing ahead of Pompeo’s arrival, a Senior US State Department official disclosed on Wednesday that Guyana and the US will exchange diplomatic notes on joint maritime patrols to interdict narcotics.

“In Guyana, for example, we’re going to do an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) on joint maritime patrols which are getting at interdiction of drugs and drug traffickers that are causing security problems for them,” he stated.

According to the official, this step would not only provide security for Guyanese, but US citizens as well.

The signing of this pact for maritime patrol comes on the heels of increasing attacks from Venezuela across the border in riverine areas. Only recently, several officers attached to the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) came under fire while conducting inspection along the Cuyuni River. It is suspected that the shots were fired from the notorious syndicato gang from Venezuela.

In fact, Regional Commander Dion Moore had explained that such incidents have been occurring for some time now. Fortunately, no one has ever been injured to date.

Meanwhile, also on the agenda for the two-day visit is the signing of a ‘Growth in the Americas’ MOU, which will permit Guyana to improve its investment-enabling environment so that the country can benefit from transparent infrastructure investment that respects its sovereignty.