THE Government of Guyana is ready and willing to support any effort by the United States (U.S.) Government to establish a Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) in this country, Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett reiterated on Thursday.

She repeated the commitment following remarks by U. S. Ambassador Brent Hardt, who disclosed one of the main reasons the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has not readily moved to establish an office in Guyana.
Rodrigues-Birkett assured that Guyana is ready and willing to do all the necessaries which must to be done and which will facilitate the establishment of the office locally.
The U.S. still has an interest in establishing a DEU on these shores but there are conditions which have to be met and must satisfy the American authorities.
The Ambassador said, be it the Customs Anti- Narcotics Unit (CANU) or some other special force or branch of the Police, those who are selected to work along with the DEA have to be “fully vetted.”
According to Hardt, the persons must be tested in such a way that the DEU personnel in the U. S. can feel free to share sensitive information with them and be comfortable that it will remain top secret, private and confidential in the interest of the job and the objectives of the unit.
He added, too, that already as part of a US$850,000 Letter of Agreement under the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), monies have been available for the vetting of units which will be selected to work with the DEA of the U.S.
The Letter of Agreement was signed by Rodrigues- Birkett and Hardt on Thursday and he said the selection and vetting of a unit to work with the DEA will see an elevated partnership with respect to the fight against the drugs.
Right direction
Hardt indicated that things seem to be moving in the right direction for the establishment of the DEA Office in Guyana and, very soon, there will be more pronouncements on the efforts being made.
The Government of Guyana has long expressed an interest in having a DEA presence in this country that will assist with the information and other intelligence gathering on combating the drug trade.
Last year, President Donald Ramotar, while addressing the Annual Police Officers Conference urged the ranks to start going after the big drug lords and their safe havens rather than just focusing on the smaller fishes.
He said that the issue of drugs within the society has been reaching its fabric and the recruiting of young males as couriers and other agents of drug lords needs to be addressed.
CANU is the leading drug fighting agency in Guyana which, with the help of the Police, gathers information and carries out surveillance on persons suspected to be operating in the drugs underworld.

(By Leroy Smith)