Guyanese miners at mercy of ruthless Sindicato Gang

…as robberies, beating escalate
– ‘F’ Division Commander says probe launched into river attacks

Saying they are at the mercy of the ruthless Sindicato Gang, miners operating in Upper Cuyuni riverine areas in Guyana’s administrative Region Seven are begging the Government to provide escort services as they traverse the river following attacks by members of the said gang.
The miners claim the situation is hampering their businesses, and that in recent times, members of the Venezuela-based Sindicato Gang have set up camp about three miles below Eteringbang, on the Cuyuni River, and are stopping all boats (both Venezuelan and Guyanese), demanding gold and cash for fuel, ration and other things that are being transported for their operations.
“This Sindicato Gang is heavily armed, and would fire at our boats if we do not stop. They also have boats, and would drive up to us if we do not stop,” the miners complained.

They noted also that a group of Sindicato Gang members have recently set us another base at Butanamo, about 20 miles further down the Cuyuni, and are doing the same thing to persons traversing the river.
Miners are calling on Government to intervene and provide protection for them. “We are hereby calling on the Government and military to urgently address this situation that is affecting our businesses significantly, by immediately providing escort services for our boats through these two zones,” the miners have pleaded.
Efforts to contact Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, to enquire whether he is aware of the situation and if any action has since been taken, have proven futile. However, Commander of the Police ‘F’ Division (Interior Locations), Senior Superintendent Kevin Adonis, told Guyana Times that the Police are aware of the situation, and have since launched an investigation.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that they (the miners) are going on the Venezuelan side of the River, and we can’t do anything, because these people are in Venezuela, and we can’t go other there,” Commander Adonis explained.
He pointed out that since receiving the report about a week ago, and after investigating same, the Police have been urging the miners to stay in Guyana’s waters and avoid going over to the neighbouring territory.
“When the joint service went there and we found that the (Guyanese) miners are going in the people waters, we cautioned them, but they want go mine in the people water… But we can’t do anything if they get attack over there, so that’s why we’ve been telling them not to venture out over there,” the Divisional Commander related.
Over the past year, there have been increasing reports of members of the Sindicato Gang crossing over to Guyana and terrorising persons here while robbing them. Asked about this, Senior Superintendent Adonis said those are unconfirmed reports. He noted that the miners would usually lodge complaints, but there is no supporting evidence to point out who the alleged culprits are.
Last year, there were several cases wherein local mining camps were attacked and robbed, reportedly by perpetrators crossing over from both Venezuela and Brazil. According to the victims, the bandits were speaking fluent Portuguese and Spanish, which suggest that they are not Guyanese.
Minister Ramjattan had explained, in an interview with the Guyana Times, that the bandits could very well be Guyanese who are bilingual, having lived in the neighbouring countries or close to the borders.
“We don’t know; and from what we are hearing, it is not as if we have gotten the information as to whether they are Guyanese or non-Guyanese, because there are thousands of actual Guyanese who have been living in Venezuela and know the Spanish language very well. And so I won’t go that far to say… What I can say is that there are masked men armed heavily, speaking foreign language that is not the English that we know; but I can’t say if they’re Guyanese, if they’re Brazilians, or if they’re Venezuelans or whatever. It’s difficult at this stage, unless a couple of them have been caught, and then we can know for sure,” the Public Security Minister had stated.
In addition to these attacks, a horrific video was circulated on social media back in January of a young man, believed to be Guyanese, being butchered by members of this Venezuelan Sindicato Gang.
Over the past weeks, President David Granger has been making visits to communities along the borderline with Guyana’s western neighbour, announcing plans to beef up security in those areas.
The formation of more Community Policing Groups (CPGs) was one of such measures undertaken to ensure the protection of citizens in those frontline communities.