Guyana, US move to deepen partnership against drug trafficking, transnational crime

Home Affairs Minister Oneidge Walrond has reaffirmed Guyana’s commitment to strengthening law enforcement cooperation with the United States (US), following a meeting with the US Embassy’s new Director of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) for Guyana and Suriname, Kevin Ogley.
In a post on her social media page on Wednesday, Walrond said the meeting focused on deepening cooperation between the two countries in tackling narcotics trafficking and transnational crime.

“Meeting him early in his tenure, I was encouraged by his clear commitment to deepening our law enforcement cooperation,” the Minister stated.
She added that Guyana and the US shared an interest in protecting their citizens and expressed an intention to continue working together to address cross-border criminal activity.
The meeting comes as both countries continue to strengthen their security partnership, with US Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot last month saying that closer cooperation would make Guyana a more difficult environment for narcotics traffickers to operate in.
During an appearance on the Energy Perspectives podcast in September, Theriot said Guyana’s oil and gas revenues, alongside its economic growth and development, had made the country an attractive target for criminal networks.
She said Washington was prepared to assist Guyana in addressing the threat, highlighting cooperation between US law enforcement agencies and local counterparts, including the Guyana Defence Force (GDF); Guyana Police Force (GPF); Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) and Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU).
The Ambassador also pointed to Guyana’s participation in the Shield of the Americas and the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition as part of broader regional efforts to combat narcotics trafficking and transnational criminal organisations.
Among the areas of cooperation is air and maritime domain awareness, which involves improving the ability of authorities to monitor activity within Guyana’s airspace and territorial waters.
Theriot disclosed in September that the US Department of State had committed US$2 million towards a cost-sharing initiative to strengthen air domain awareness, with the Guyanese Government also expected to contribute.
The initiative is intended to improve the monitoring of suspected drug flights and help authorities track their movements.
The US has also provided the GDF with a coastal radar system to monitor vessels operating within a specified range of Guyana’s coastline, supporting efforts to detect and respond to maritime criminal activity.
Guyana’s regional cooperation has also extended to the Shield of the Americas, a coalition established in March 2026 to address narco-terrorism and organised criminal networks across the Western Hemisphere.
At the coalition’s second meeting, held on the side-lines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, Guyana joined other participating countries in renewing commitments to coordinated action against criminal organisations.
The participating states identified security cooperation, economic development and multilateral coordination as key areas for strengthening regional resilience, while pledging to pursue measures against designated criminal groups in keeping with their respective domestic and international legal obligations.