– a key member of Carter Centre team that monitored the historic 1992 elections in Guyana

Dr. Robert A. Pastor, a Latin America specialist who was a top U.S. negotiator of the 1977 Panama Canal treaties, and who was also a key member of the Carter Centre team that monitored the historic 1992 elections in Guyana, died on Wednesday at his home in Washington. He was 66.

The cause of death was colon cancer, according to his son, Kip Pastor.
President Donald Ramotar, speaking with the Chronicle last night, extended condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Dr Pastor. The Guyanese Head of State recalled the significant role that Dr Pastor played in the lead-up to the holding of the historic 1992 elections in Guyana, where the esteemed doctor was an integral part of the Carter Centre team, and who played a crucial role in facilitating Guyana’s transition to democracy.

President Ramotar said that “the democratic forces in Guyana will always remember the great contribution that Dr Pastor made in assisting the Guyanese people to restore free and fair elections in Guyana and in helping in the process of this country’s return to democracy.”
President Ramotar also alluded to the fact that Dr Pastor, through scholarship and diplomacy, sought to strengthen U.S. relations with countries to the

south, including Guyana. The Guyanese leader said he will be making a more detailed statement today on Dr Pastor’s passing.