Guyana, US benefit from counter narcotics exercise

Guyana and the United States participated in a three-day Counter Narcotics Orientation at USSouthcom headquarters and Joint Interagency Task Force-South in Florida recently.

In a press release the US Embassy said Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee, GDF Chief-of-Staff Commodore Gary Best, US Ambassador D Brent Hardt and members of the US Embassy’s Military Liaison Office attended the February 2012 orientation. The minister and Chief of Staff were given in-depth briefings on US operations, procedures and approaches for maritime detection and port security during their visit, reinforced by senior level consultations on ways to enhance sharing of information and to boost operational coordination.

This exercise “deepened the ongoing dialogue among Guyanese and US agency leadership to enhance cooperation on monitoring, detection, and interdiction of illicit trafficking in the maritime arena,” the release said. It also said that the US military and the GDF participate regularly in joint training activities, contributing to improved military operations, readiness and interoperability and increased capacity to respond to security threats and provide humanitarian assistance in the region.