APNU leader opposes United States deal with Guyana 

Leader of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Aubrey Norton, has stated that Guyana would set a dangerous precedent should the country accept non-Guyanese deportees from the United States.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Guyana is developing a framework of understanding with the US for accepting third-country nationals deported from the North American nation, something which Norton expressed concerns about.
“We wish to reiterate our position that accepting non-Guyanese deportees through deportation is unacceptable. This is more so when they are rejects of another society and detrimental to ours. APNU cannot understand the logic behind accepting deportees that another society does not want. Were they assets, the sending Government would have kept them. The question becomes, why would we accept what others do not want?” he declared.

Speaking during his party’s weekly press conference on Friday, the APNU leader went on to call on the Guyana Government to halt the process that would lead to an agreement with the US.
“What would happen if the United Kingdom decides they want to do the same thing? It’s a dangerous precedent,” Norton contended.
On Tuesday, Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud had confirmed that the framework of understanding between the two countries is being developed, and once completed, an official agreement would be drafted for Guyana to accept third-country nationals deported from the US.
However, Persaud explained that even with an agreement, Guyana would still retain the right of refusal of anyone being sent.
“Guyana and the USA have been in productive discussions on a framework of understanding which is consistent with our national priorities and needs and supportive of the USA objectives,” Persaud noted.
The Guyana Government has already indicated that it would not be accepting any persons with a criminal background. In fact, those coming are expected to largely encompass persons denied asylum in the US but not desirous of returning to their home country. These are highly skilled individuals who have accepted the option of going to another country that is willing to receive them.
As part of the deal, all costs associated with the refugee’s relocation will be borne by the US for the stay until they are settled and it is decided where in the country the refugee will be sent.
If an agreement is reached, Guyana will join a growing number of countries across the globe that already have agreements with the US to accept third-country nationals. The Caribbean nations of Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda are the most recent countries to reach agreements with the US.
Since last year, the US has sent, or made arrangements to send, third-country foreign nationals to a range of countries across Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa. These include Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico, El Salvador, Belize, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Paraguay, Ghana, Eswatini (Swaziland), Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda.
In these cases, the individuals transferred were neither US citizens nor nationals of the receiving countries, and the arrangements have taken place through a mix of formal agreements, temporary cooperation frameworks and ad hoc security or migration arrangements, often linked to asylum processing, deportations, or onwards relocation.