Shield of the Americas Summit: Guyana backs “strong, direct” actions to combat transnational crime, narco-terrorism in region – Pres Al

…country among 13 nations signs onto pact against cartel activity

President Dr Irfaan Ali has declared Guyana’s unequivocal support for the strong actions and direct approach being taken by the United States (US) to crack down on drug cartels and transnational crimes that have plagued the Western Hemisphere for decades.
The Guyanese leader made these remarks during an interview with Fox News’ Aishah Hasnie on the side-lines of the Shield of the Americas Summit hosted by President Donald Trump in Miami, Florida, on Saturday.
President Ali is among leaders from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, and Trinidad and Tobago who were invited by President Trump for the summit.
The Guyanese and Trinidadian heads of state were the only two leaders from the Caribbean at Saturday›s event.
During his interview, President Ali said he totally agrees with President Trump’s efforts to dismantle drug cartels and foreign terrorist organisations operating in the Western Hemisphere.
According to Ali, «The region itself has made many public comments in relation to drug cartels operating, using our airspace, and using our Exclusive Economic Zone [EEZ], and this is not something that was there yesterday. We’ve always complained about this, and President Trump has taken a direct approach on this issue.”
He further lamented how these networks have hampered development within the region, exposing countries such as Guyana and their borders to transnational criminals and criminal networks and giving the region a “bad name” when it comes to drug trafficking.

“Counter-Cartel Coalition”
At Saturday’s Shield of the Americas Summit, Guyana and 11 other countries from the LAC region joined President Trump to sign a proclamation, committing to the dismantling of cartels and foreign terrorist organisations operating in the Western Hemisphere.
According to President Ali, “We support the strong action on drug cartels. We’ve supported the charter to deal with transnational crime, especially narco-terrorism and these cartels. We have to agree first that this is a challenge to the region, and we have an approach now that is direct and one that seeks to take the region out of the stain of criminality, cartels, and drugs.”
President Trump described the proclamation as the “Americas Counter-Cartel Coalition”, noting that these brutal criminal organisations are a “cancer” and pose an “unacceptable threat” to national and regional security. This, he pointed out, cannot be fought with law enforcement but with military might.
“The only way to defeat these enemies is by unleashing the power of our militaries. We have to use our military. You have to use your military… We’re going to use your military. In many cases, our forces have already been working closely with yours. And the United States looks forward to deepening and expanding that cooperation in the months ahead,” Trump stated.

The US President further told the dozen regional leaders at the summit that their countries have unlimited and tremendous potential that cannot be achieved with the presence of cartels in the region.
“It’s a great part of the world, but to fill that tremendous potential, we must smash the grip of the cartels and criminal gangs and horrible organisations run by, in some cases, absolute animals and truly liberate our people.”
“We’ll work with you if you need. With the courage and resolve of the great leaders in this room, we’ll make our nations safer, stronger, richer, and more successful than ever before… I look forward to the incredible progress that’s soon to come. You’re going to see some incredible things,” President Trump declared.

Greater stability
Late last year, Washington deployed about 10,000 troops in the Caribbean as part of efforts to combat transnational crime and the illicit drug trade in the region, especially coming out of Caracas.
The Trump Administration has stated that designated narco-terrorist organisations like Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles are using the region’s air and sea corridors to funnel drugs into the US, thus posing a direct threat to American lives and security.
On January 3, US troops captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife in Caracas, taking them to New York to face several indictments on drug trafficking and narco-terrorism. Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has since been sworn in as Venezuela’s interim President after Maduro’s ouster.
During Saturday’s interview, President Ali indicated that since the regime change in the Spanish-speaking nation, there has been greater stability and improvements in the region. He reminded him of the threats and aggression Guyana faced from Caracas under Maduro’s rule.

“Guyana came under threat from Venezuela under the Maduro regime, and what we have seen since the capture of Maduro is an attempt by the Government, of course in keeping with the agreement of the US, to move towards a safer environment in which the Venezuelan people would enjoy greater prosperity and greater development prospects and move towards a more democratic society – values that we share and values that we uphold.”
“And that by itself has brought a change in the mindset, a change in the condition, and we have seen greater stability, less rhetoric, and wherever there is less rhetoric about conflict, there’s greater confidence in the system. And wherever there is momentum towards democracy, there are greater prospects for the region. So yes, that would have brought improvement,” the Guyanese leader posited.
Over the years, Venezuela has been increasing its aggression towards Guyana in furtherance of its spurious claims to more than two-thirds of Guyana’s landmass – the entire Essequibo region – and a portion of the country’s EEZ, where over 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) have been found and oil operations are currently ongoing offshore by US oil major ExxonMobil and its partners.
Back in 2018, Guyana had approached the International Court of Justice (ICJ), seeking a final and binding settlement of the 1899 Arbitral Award, which establishes the boundaries with neighbouring Venezuela.
After receiving written pleadings on the merits of the case from both countries, the World Court will hear oral arguments in May from the two sides, after which it will deliberate and issue a judgement that will be binding on both nations.
The Guyana Government has already indicated its confidence in a favourable ruling.