Paving the way for foreign drug lords

It really should come as no surprise that Brazilian bandits are operating in the Lethem area.  What is not known is if they have engaged in similar activities in other parts of the country.  We recall the murders of two serving members of the police force allegedly by non-nationals in the interior about two years ago. Therefore it is worth examining the likely challenges these portend for law enforcement.  The fact that policing in Guyana is fraught with myriad difficulties not to mention resource constraints demands that a careful study be undertaken of this emergent phenomenon.  Additionally, our porous borders tend to facilitate the influx of undocumented migrants from Guyana’s neighbours.  This in and of itself is an untenable situation in which we find ourselves, and where we expect much from our under-endowed law enforcement officers. It is incumbent upon the administration to revisit its approach to several issues, not least of which is the urgent recapitalisation of the disciplined services in consonance with the vibrant enforcement of an immigration policy that is relevant. It is not hard to imagine who might have been blamed for the attempted robbery if the Lethem three had not been caught especially in our stagnant yet volatile political environment.  Maybe the relevant ministry can tell us how many non-nationals have been documented in the past year.  This question is important in view of the fact that large numbers of Brazilians and Chinese can be seen in almost all areas of this country. The proliferation of non-nationals in this country should occasion some degree of unease since among them are likely to be those seen as undesirables even in their country of origin.  Of course the more recent revelations that Guyana is home to a Mexican cartel operating in concert with the Italian Mafia, is sufficient to raise our apprehensions that not enough is being done to monitor inward migration trends. The fact that we welcome foreign investors does not preclude the exercise of due diligence in view of the possibility that this country could be vulnerable to the influence of gangs including the Chinese triads.  More to the point is that right next door is Brazil which has been particularly impacted by gangs and transnational organized crime which pose serious national security problems for the Brazilian authorities with the illegal trafficking of narcotics. The issue that arises is whether Guyana has the appropriate coping mechanisms in place to deal with the potential presence of Brazilian gangs whose very existence poses a threat to the country’s effective sovereignty. The unimpeded flow of persons across national borders make countries like Guyana susceptible to transnational organized crime which also tend to undermine a state’s sovereignty, authority, and capacity to confront the perpetrators of certain crimes against the state.  Non-state actors in the form of violent criminal enterprises compromise a government’s ability to perform its legitimizing functions. This is evident in the scale of execution-type murder, kidnapping, intimidation, corruption, and other means of coercion that are brought to bear upon public officials.  All of this means that where these are allowed to go unchecked transnational gangs eventually appropriate to themselves portions of a nation’s territory, assuming and directly performing the tasks of government effectively operating as states within a state. As a matter of extreme urgency the government must take all necessary steps to ensure that we do not become a satellite of Brazilian gangs like the Red Command, Friends of Friends, and the First Capital Command. This brings another troubling aspect of transnational criminal enterprise into focus, and that is the will and willingness to come into conflict with the influence of unlimited funds.  The current toing and froing with the anti-money laundering legislation is showing to the world a seeming inclination to facilitate the beneficiaries of the illegal drug trade, and ultimately the sponsors of terrorism. From the man in the street’s perspective nothing will be lost to Guyana if we were to have a strong piece of enforceable legislation free of legal loopholes.  So why the dilly dallying?