HomeNewsBriefGuyana Not a Narco-State, Declares Guyanese Govt
BRIEF

Guyana Not a Narco-State, Declares Guyanese Govt

GUYANA / 26 SEP 2011 BY GEOFFREY RAMSEY EN

In what appears to be a severe case of selective hearing, the Guyanese government has released a triumphant press statement celebrating its absence from the U.S.’s newly-updated drug watch list.

A September 24 statement from Guyana’s Ministry of Information called attention to the tiny South American country's absence from U.S. government’s recent update to the list, which names countries it deems to be major drug-producing or drug-transit zones.

“A total of 22 countries worldwide now appear on the drugs blacklist. Guyana does not appear on that list,” the press release noted proudly. The ministry added that the U.S. had deemed three countries (Bolivia, Burma, and Venezuela) to have “failed demonstrably” in cracking down on drug trafficking, again not including Guyana.

The statement claims that its absence from the list “underscores the success of Guyana’s counter-narcotics efforts.” But while the government is touting this as a victory, the fact is that the U.S. has recently issued less than flattering words for the South America country’s drug trafficking measures.

According to the U.S. State Department’s 2011 International Narcotics Report, counter-narcotics operations in Guyana are hindered by “marginal commitment and capacity at all levels of government.” The report also cites weak land and border controls as a major hindrance to effective monitoring of drug shipments, alleging that “drug traffickers are able to conduct operations without significant interference from law enforcement agencies.”

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Tags

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

BOLIVIA / 8 MAR 2023

InSight Crime reviews Latin America and the Caribbean's cocaine seizure date from 2022 to find out what it reveals about…

COCAINE / 17 NOV 2022

InSight Crime sat down with Suriname's President Chan Santokhi to discuss the multiple criminal challenges ahead for the country.

BOLIVIA / 8 NOV 2022

The Amazon is one of the world’s most biodiverse regions, where wildlife trafficking threatens hundreds of thousands of species.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…