Drug trafficking sanctions: “We’re cutting off their profits, securing our borders” – US State Dept official

The United States (US) is tackling international drug trafficking head-on with its recent sanctions on four Guyanese nationals, by cutting off their profits and securing the US borders, according to a senior official at the Department of State.
On Thursday, the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Senior Superintendent of Police Himnauth Sawh along with Paul Daby Jr, Mark Cromwell, and Randolph Duncan – all Guyanese – along with two Colombian nationals, for trafficking tonnes of cocaine from South America to the US, Europe, and the Caribbean.
“@POTUS is confronting international drug trafficking head-on. Today @USTreasury, supported by @StateDept and other agencies, sanctioned individuals operating cocaine trafficking networks in Guyana. We’re cutting off their profits and securing our borders,” State Department Spokesperson, Tammy Bruce, said in a social media post late Thursday night.
In a statement earlier on Thursday, the State Department said the sanction imposed on the four Guyanese nationals and two Colombian nationals demonstrates strong US’s commitment to combating illicit drug trafficking and protecting the American people.
The US Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) had supported the investigation by OFAC that resulted in the sanctions, which will see all properties and interests in property of the named individuals in the US or in the possession or control of US persons being blocked.
“This action was in coordination with Homeland Security Investigations, US Customs and Border Protection, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).”
“In particular, DSS and DEA supported Guyanese authorities in the August 2024 discovery of 4.4 tonnes of cocaine buried deep underground in a clandestine airfield in the north-west region of Guyana that shares a border with Venezuela,” the State Department noted.
The Treasury Department had stated on Thursday that Guyana has been the focus in the last few years of major US law enforcement operations in partnership with Guyanese authorities, resulting in multi-tonne seizures of cocaine.
The most significant of these busts was the August 31, 2024 discovery of the 4.4 tonnes of cocaine, with a street value of over G$40.7 billion, hidden in several bunkers near an illegal airstrip at Matthew’s Ridge in Region One (Barima-Waini).
At the time of the discovery, which is Guyana’s largest narcotics interception to date, Senior Superintendent Sawh was the Police Commander of the Barima-Waini region. According to the Treasury Department, Sawh “…has ensured safe passage to Colombian and Venezuelan traffickers through Region One.”
The senior cop was removed from the post in Region One shortly after the cocaine discovery last year. Prior to Thursday when he was sent on administrative leave by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) following the sanctions, Sawh was posted at the GPF’s Projects Office.
President Dr Irfaan Ali has already indicated that there will be an investigation locally into the officer’s involvement in the narco-trade ring.
“We have to launch an investigation but we have to have information. So, I’ve spoken to the US Ambassador [to Guyana, Nicole Theriot], and I know the security architecture is also seeking this information,” the Head of State told reporters on the sidelines of an event Thursday evening.
With regard to the other three sanctioned Guyanese nationals, the Treasury Department stated that Daby Jr and Duncan operate the largest drug trafficking organisations in Guyana, and rely on maritime vessels and aircraft to conceal and traffic cocaine, while also allegedly bribing Guyanese officials to facilitate their drug trafficking operations.
“Daby Jr traffics tonne-quantities of cocaine, coordinating the shipment of loads from Colombia and Venezuela via aircraft, and [is] utilising illegal airstrips in Guyana. Daby Jr also relies on a network of individuals to conceal and transport cocaine in shipping containers from the ports of Guyana and Suriname. Daby Jr is also involved in the transporting of illegal gold from Guyana via maritime vessels. Duncan traffics cocaine from Guyana to Africa and the Caribbean, with Europe and the United States as the ultimate destinations,” the US officials stated.
Meanwhile, it was noted that Cromwell, also a former Police officer, is a violent drug trafficker and associate of Daby Jr Cromwell is wanted by the GPF for his connection to the 2024 abduction of a former Guyanese police officer.
According to the Treasury Department, the two sanctioned Colombian nationals, Yeison Andres Sanchez Vallejo and Manuel Salazar Gutierrez, are responsible for overseeing the clandestine airstrips used to transport tonne-quantities of cocaine via aircraft from Colombia to Guyana.
The Guyana Government, through the Home Affairs Ministry, on Thursday welcomed the sanctions as part of efforts to clamp down on Guyana being used as a transshipment point for drugs trafficking.
The Ministry noted that in addition to the senior cop being sent on admin leave, further action will certainly follow. It said the Attorney General’s (AG) Office will also request details from OFAC to facilitate further investigations locally and guide the actions of the Police Service Commission as well as the Guyana Government.
Nevertheless, the Home Affairs Ministry further committed to continue working with the US and other counterparts in the fight against drug trafficking.
The US State Department had noted that its Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs provided specialised training under the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative to several of Guyana’s specialised counternarcotics units that participated in the successful operations to crackdown on illicit trade.