–Minister Walrond says Guyana is preparing for transnational crime threats
HOME Affairs Minister Oneidge Walrond has said that Guyana is preparing for emerging security risks linked to transnational crime, insisting that local authorities are planning ahead as the country’s economy and international connections expand.
“The drug trade in Guyana has become, and the approach to it has become more transnational. It’s now our fight against drugs. It is not a one-agency approach anymore… it has to be interagency,” she said.
Speaking on the Starting Point podcast, which was aired on Sunday, Walrond said the government anticipated that new infrastructure and greater connectivity could create vulnerabilities that criminal networks might seek to exploit. She said security planning was being carried out with those risks in mind.
“We are anticipating that Guyana will become vulnerable, more vulnerable as we develop…We are not waiting for the threats to happen.”
Walrond added that the country’s response to organised crime had to be forward looking, rather than waiting for threats to emerge before acting. She referred to planning around major infrastructural projects and said measures were being put in place to monitor and secure potential points of vulnerability.
The minister also described drug trafficking as an increasingly transnational challenge. She said Guyana was being used as a transit point for narcotics moving towards Africa and Europe, requiring a response that goes beyond any single agency.
Walrond credited the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) and the Guyana Police Force’s narcotics unit with making seizures and said enforcement work was supported by co-operation with international partners, including Interpol and the US Marshals Service.
She said some drug shipments intercepted outside Guyana’s borders had been identified through work that began in the country, highlighting the importance of intelligence sharing and co-operation across jurisdictions.
Walrond said the government was also considering emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, as part of its efforts to anticipate security threats. She did not disclose operational details, but said forward planning was taking place across the security sector.
“Our response has to be anticipatory. We have to be forward looking and [do] forward-planning.”
Her comments came during a discussion about how Guyana’s development and expanding international links could affect the country’s security needs. Walrond said the authorities were working to prevent criminal organisations from finding a safe haven in Guyana, while building partnerships and planning for risks before they materialise.
“There are systems put in place to monitor and secure that bridge…I’m constrained to speak as to the things that we’re doing, but just know that we are forward looking, even with the use of AI,” she said.
Back in August, CANU destroyed narcotics with an estimated street value of approximately $429.8 million.
The exercise involved 81 kilogrammes of cocaine, 1,161 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa (marijuana) and 314 grammes of methamphetamine.
CANU’s Director James Singh, speaking during that exercise had said that improved equipment, with support from the Ministry of Home Affairs, is helping officers conduct their work more safely.
Singh also credited international partners, including the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), for assisting Guyana in its efforts to prevent the country from becoming a haven for international drug-trafficking organisations.
He said CANU’s Drug Information Network is working with the Ministries of Health, Education and Human Services and Social Security, while the agency has produced informational booklets and conducts community outreaches.
Singh stated that the outreach is not limited to communities where drug problems have already emerged, but also targets areas considered to be at risk.
