Guyana not on US narcotics blacklist
-thanks to its robust countermeasures
THE MINISTRY of Home Affairs on Friday sent out a press release drawing attention to the fact that Guyana has not been named by the United States as one of the countries in the region that has been blacklisted due to their involvement in the narcotics trade.
“According to the BBC website, US President Barack Obama has added two Central American countries to a blacklist of countries considered major producers or transit routes for illegal drugs,” the release says, adding:
“US State Department officials said cartels were using the two Central American nations as routes for smuggling cocaine from South America north to Mexico and the US.” 
A total of twenty-two (22) countries worldwide, it says, now appear on the drugs blacklist. Guyana is not on that list. 
“Three countries were deemed to have ‘failed demonstrably’ in the fight against drugs.  Guyana does not feature among those countries.  A country is so deemed when it does not fulfil its obligations under international counter-narcotics agreements and conventions.  Such a designation can lead to a country attracting sanctions, by the US,” the release says, adding:
“The report by the US underscores the success of Guyana’s counter-narcotics efforts over the years, which clearly surpasses many countries in the Latin America and Caribbean Region. 
“The report gives the lie to those in Guyana who are in the habit of describing Guyana as a narco-state, and is not actively engaged in fighting the drug trade.”