– Granger living in cuckoo land

A PARTNERSHIP for National Unity (APNU) over the weekend called on the Head of State, Mr. Donald Ramotar “to do more than talk” to reduce drug trafficking in Guyana.APNU, in a statement said, “He (the President) must become personally involved in directing the war on illegal narcotics which, apparently, are now being exported on an industrial scale.
“…these tasks must not be left to the Minister of Home Affairs who has failed to curb the drug trade. It is clear that the PPP/C either has lost interest in ending the narco-trade or is untroubled by the damage that the trade is doing to this country and its people.”
“…the last plan – National Drug Strategy Master Plan, 2005-2009 – was never fully implemented. It expired five years ago and was never replaced.
“…this development has extremely serious security implications. The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) for over two decades has demonstrated a lack of ‘political will’ to eradicate narco-trafficking. The public is fed-up with the PPP/C’s false promises, failed plans, the rate of ‘execution’ murders and the bogus war on narcotics-trafficking….he must make more than ‘limited’ promises. He must commit his administration absolutely to effective performance.”
Acknowledging the sentiments expressed by Guyana’s main Opposition party, the President told the Guyana Chronicle, in an invited comment, that APNU’s call is not premised on reality.
“Mr. Granger seems to be living in cuckoo land…we have been making strides in cracking down on this issue,” he said.
The Head of State noted that while the drug trade is a problem, efforts continue to be made to address the problem.
“Just the other day we seized a ‘ship’…we have also only recently destroyed a massive quantity of marijuana and cocaine. Our efforts show that our security forces are working,” Mr. Ramotar said.
The ‘ship’ to which the President referred was a narco submarine that was found on August 15 in Guyana’s northwest coastal Waini Region near the border with Venezuela. The narco submarine is 65 feet (20 meters) long, 12 feet (4 meters) wide and seven feet (two meters) deep, with a huge diesel engine, according to Head of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit, James Singh.
A week later, CANU destroyed over 730 kilogrammes of cocaine (with a street value of US$29M) and 1,970 kilogrammes of marijuana. The illegal drugs, which were destroyed by burning at the former Ministry of Housing site on Homestretch Avenue, were acquired following several drug busts.
Additionally, talk with the United States to have the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) establish a branch in Guyana have met with success and, with the authorization of the US Congress, equipped DEA personnel will be based in Georgetown at the US Embassy, Duke Street, very soon. Previous cooperation between Guyana’s law enforcement and Guyana was done through a DEA office based in neighbouring Trinidad. The announcement was made at a joint news conference hosted by President Ramotar and the former US Ambassador, Brent Hardt in June. The DEA is the lead agency in the US for domestic enforcement of federal drug laws, and for coordinating and pursuing US drug investigations abroad.
According to the Head of State this move will serve to make Guyana “inhospitable” to criminal elements. “I want to make our country totally inhospitable to those who try to use Guyana to traffic drugs and use our country for illicit activities…I hope this stronger cooperation will help to push this forward,” he had said when the announcement was made.
The DEA has been working very closely with Guyana’s Police Force and CANU for many years.

(Vanessa Narine)