With help from the US, Guyana has been able to push back against the drug trade, according to President Irfaan Ali

The President has credited the outgoing US Ambassador, Sarah-Ann Lynch for the successes recorded in the Security Sector.

Speaking at a farewell reception held on Friday in honour of the US Ambassador, President Ali said there is greater synergy in the security architecture of the country thanks to the support received from the US, particularly in the fight to combat transnational crimes, including drug trafficking.

“Our collaboration on the security front has allowed our human resource assets to gain tremendous experience, training; we now have more joint exchange programmes in the history of our country, and not only at the military level but also at the Guyana Police Force level, at the policy making level, and very soon we will have a high-level visit to further strengthen our ambitions on the security front,” President Ali said.

Weighing in on the issue of security, Ambassador Lynch said thanks to the excellent partnership between the two sides, Guyana and the US have had successful extraditions of criminals.

Just recently, a US fugitive was apprehended in Guyana, and escorted back to the US by federal agents to face charges there.

“On the defense side, we provided millions of dollars in military training, undertook not one but now two major military exercises (Tradewinds) in just three years, an unprecedented feat for any country of this size in the region, and provided critical medical care to hundreds of Guyanese thanks to medical visits by the US military,” the US Ambassador said.

She said the US could not have done it without the support of the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Defence Force, the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU), and the office of the National Security Advisor.

In the area of Health, Ambassador Lynch pointed to the fact that the US donated well over 355,000 COVID-19 vaccines, and millions of dollars in equipment including PPEs and deep freeze freezers, to aid in the fight against the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.

The US also assisted Guyana in resolving its electoral crisis, and has provided much needed support to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

Ambassador Lynch is leaving Guyana to take up a new position at the US Southern Command.

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