...Defense official addresses illegal firearms
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - IN light of the challenges created by transnational organisations, including organised crime, the US Government is said to be carefully considering the need for a military base in the Caribbean Region.
This disclosure was made on Tuesday (Jan. 9) by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Western Hemisphere at the U.S. Department of Defense, Daniel Erikson.
He was at the time responding to questions from media personnel at the US Embassy in Georgetown following a meeting with President Irfaan Ali, other Government officials and Heads of the Guyana Defence and Police Forces.
“The United States views the challenges posed by transnational organisations that are not just military challenges but are also legal and law enforcement challenges and therefore require the whole of government response working with our partners in the region,” Erikson told reporters.
He also said: “So, at this juncture, we are not foreseeing any changes in terms of what our overall posture is in this region, but you know we continue to assess the situation as it evolves.”
The US Defense official was also questioned on the proliferation of illegal firearms from America entering the Caribbean Region, to which he said: “We recognise that this is a big concern throughout the Caribbean because it is tied to illicit criminal networks, transnational criminal organisations [and] certainly tied to the overall drugs and narcotics trade that exist in the Region.”
He indicated that his Government is focused on addressing those concerns and would provide additional prosecutorial assets to investigate and prosecute cases of illegal firearms trafficking in the Region.
Erikson was on a two-day visit to Guyana to discuss areas of mutual interest, including the country’s defence assets’ with President Ali.
