President Irfaan Ali has reiterated Guyana’s support for the United States crackdown on illegal drugs trade in the region, saying his administration ‘has absolutely no sympathy for drug trafficker’.
The Donald Trump administration has built up a military armada in international waters near Venezuela, allegedly to prevent drug smugglers from sending their products into the North American country. Washington has sanctioned the killings of several people on vessels that the military has bombed in international waters despite international criticisms that the killings were extra judicial in nature with the US providing no evidence of those killed were involved in the illegal drugs trade.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has supported the actions taken by the US saying that drug dealers should be killed ‘violently’.
Ali, speaking to reports said that Georgetown is unwavering in its support for ongoing efforts to combat narcotics trafficking and other forms of smuggling in the region.
‘We have a strong partnership with the US and other international partners in dealing with every form of smuggling and drug trafficking,’ he said, adding ‘my administration has absolutely no sympathy for drug traffickers.
‘Tens of thousands, millions of lives are destroyed, and also economies are destroyed by smuggling. We also see our region as one in which democracy must be able to thrive, in which the rule of law must win every single day, [and] in which the freedom of our people, wherever they live and exist, must be honoured. And that is an important element of any modern society, and we support the region being a zone of peace.’
Political observers say the US presence in the region is aimed at removing the Nicolas Maduro government in Venezuela from office and earlier this week, President Trump announced a full naval blockade of all US-sanctioned oil tankers designed to sever the Venezuelan president’s economic lifeline.
Asked about these escalating situations, President Ali told reporters that the ‘United States government has access to more intelligence than anyone of us.
‘So, we have to respect that these sanctions – and that is something every Guyanese need to understand: sanctions are a serious matter – and any action by the US in relation to its own sanction mechanism is a matter for the United States government.’
Ali said that while he cannot speak for other countries in the region that have spoken out against the US operations in the southern Caribbean, he was also mindful of the aggression and threats Guyana is facing from its South American neighbour, which has laid claims to a significant portion of Guyana.
‘You know that we have a peculiar situation in Guyana. We just had Venezuelans being charged for terrorist activity in Guyana that claimed the life of [a] young person. We have a border situation to manage [whereby] we have an active threat from Venezuela on the sovereignty of this country.
‘And my responsibility is to keep Guyanese safe, to keep Guyana safe, and to work with all our allies and partners in doing that. And I intend to continue to work strongly with our allies in doing exactly that,’ President Ali said.