U.S. gives $172M to fight corruption, drug trade

U.S Ambassador Brent Hardt listens as Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett makes a point at the signing ceremony yesterday.

In two agreements signed yesterday Guyana and the United States agreed to ramp up their cooperation in the areas of anti-corruption, law enforcement and information sharing.

The agreements valued at $172 million were signed between Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett and U.S Ambassador Brent Hardt, result from the amendment of an agreement which was signed last April. The United States government is funding the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, and has already plugged 200 million into the region. However, under the initiative, it also arranges bilateral programmes with specific governments.  Over the last three years, Guyana has been granted assistance valued at US$1.5 million. The first agreement signed yesterday was a modification of an agreement signed last April under the Caribbean Basin Initiative and will provide additional funding to allow for cooperation in the areas of rule of law and anti-corruption, law enforcement professionalization support, which would include border and ports, strengthening counter-narcotics control capabilities, money laundering and financial crimes. The new agreement will train officers in the area of forensics with the aim of enhancing the Police’s ability to collect, analyse and present forensic evidence in criminal investigation and prosecution. Assistance would also be provided in justice reform to enhance the country’s ability to address narcotics trafficking and transnational crime. Of specific note is that the new agreement caters for a so-called vetted unit to be used in the fight against narco-trafficking; that unit would only be made up of officers who pass a polygraph test. The second agreement facilitates an arrangement called Cooperative Sensor and Information Integration Programme. This system is an internet based information sharing network that will allow Guyana and the United States to fuse data on airborne, maritime and ground tracks in order to develop a common operating picture in such areas as humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, flight safety and search and rescue operations. The Caribbean Basin Initiative was launched in May, 2010 is now entering its third year. The Initiative is a security partnership that has allowed the US and the Caribbean to develop a comprehensive regional response to security, law enforcement and social challenges affecting the safety of citizens in the region. At the recent ministerial level meeting of the initiative, held in Trinidad last December, the United States, Guyana and other Caribbean partners marked the extraordinary progress of the partnership and recommitted themselves to the priorities of substantially reducing illicit trafficking, advancing public security and promoting social justice.