The US Embassy has expressed condolences to the Jagan family and the mourning nation at the passing of former President Janet Jagan.

In a statement yesterday, the embassy referred to the late President Jagan’s US roots and upbringing, as well as her “Chicago-area courtship of then-dental student Cheddi Jagan.”

This was well known, said the release, to the Guyanese people and a source of pride for the people of the US.

“As a principal figure in Guyana’s successful struggle for independence,” the statement went on, “she embodied the fight for the right of people to choose their own destiny.”

The fact that Mrs Jagan had been a committed advocate of the rights and role of women in society, politics and government and that this had impacted the lives of “countless women in Guyana and the world” was also noted.