The US Embassy will officially open the local office of the Drug Enforcement Agency in Guyana on Wednesday.
The office will be based in the US Embassy.
The opening comes at a time when Guyana and the US have been stepping up co-operation in drug fighting. A request for the local office was made and granted under former President Donald Ramotar.
During a recent interview with News Source, Ambassador Halloway stressed that the role of the DEA in Guyana will be quite different from that of local police or the Customs Anti Narcotics Unit.
“One of the advantages of having the DEA here full-time is that it will be legally easier for us to share a lot more information. And I want to stress to the Guyanese people, DEA is not the Guyanese police, they are not CANU, they will not be doing operations, they will not be kicking down doors or arresting people. They are here as advisors and legal attaché. They will be here working on cases that have a U.S nexus. They will be sharing information with Guyana so that Guyana could work on its own cases as well”, the Ambassador said.
A few months ago, Guyana signed an agreement with the United States which will see local drug enforcement agents being trained by the DEA. They will also have to undergo integrity testing and vetting. Ambassador Holloway explained that the integrity testing is important when dealing with sensitive information.
He noted that the vetting process is to ensure the integrity of the persons who will be working along with the DEA. It will be voluntary but will be done to ensure there is no leakage of sensitive information when investigations are being done.
The Drug Enforcement Agency of the United States has permanent offices set up in more than 80 countries around the world.
With Guyana being used as a drug transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and other parts in North America and Europe, the need has always existed for greater assistance from US and other international agencies.
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