Guyana, Trinidad, Dominican Republic Join US and 12 Other Nations In First Sanctions Action
Originally published by News Americas Now Read the original
By News Americas Now Staff Writer
News Americas, NY, NY, Weds. Sept. 23, 2206: Caribbean nations Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Dominican Republic have signed onto a joint declaration with the United States and 12 other Western Hemisphere nations announcing the first coordinated sanctions action under the “Shield of the Americas” initiative, targeting 24 organizations the signatories designate as narco-terrorist groups.
The Joint Statement on Defending Hemispheric Sovereignty, released by the US State Department‘s Office of the Spokesman on September 22nd, was co-signed by the United States, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Trinidad and Tobago.
The statement builds on three previously announced pillars of the Shield of the Americas – Economic, Security, and Multilateral Coordination – and moves from framework to action, announcing intent to impose asset freezes, immigration and visa restrictions, and criminal liability for individuals or entities providing material support to 24 named organizations.
THE GROUPS
Among the groups named is Cartel de Los Soles, an organization the US government has directly linked to senior figures within Venezuela’s state and military apparatus under ousted President Nicolas Maduro. Its inclusion places Guyana’s signature on a document formally naming a Maduro-linked entity as a sanctioned narco-terrorist organization – a notable data point given Guyana’s Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd has separately alleged “collusion” between Maduro and Guyanese businessmen Azruddin and Nazar Mohamed, who are currently fighting extradition to the US on gold-export tax fraud charges. Defense lawyers in that case have argued the extradition request is politically motivated, pointing to public statements by senior Guyanese officials against the Mohameds.
The full list of 24 groups spans the hemisphere and includes Mexican cartels (Sinaloa, Jalisco Nueva Generación, Gulf Cartel, Cartel del Noreste, La Nueva Familia Michoacana, Juárez Cartel), Central American gangs (MS-13, Barrio 18), Colombian groups (ELN, FARC dissident factions, Clan del Golfo), Brazilian organizations (Primeiro Comando da Capital, Comando Vermelho), Peru’s Shining Path, Ecuadorian gangs (Los Lobos, Los Choneros, Chone Killers, Los Viagras), and – notably for the Dominican Republic – Haiti’s two dominant gang coalitions, Gran Grif and Viv Ansanm, along with the DR-based Los Tiguerones.
The statement also announces intent to formally request a meeting of the Organization of American States Permanent Council to convene an Organ of Consultation under Articles 6 and 13 of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance – commonly known as the Rio Treaty – the hemisphere’s mutual-defense pact. Signatories say they intend to participate at the ministerial level in any resulting resolution on collective action against narco-terrorist organizations under the treaty.
ECONOMIC PILLAR
The Economic pillar of the broader initiative commits participants to “investment screening mechanisms,” securing critical minerals supply chains “through diversified and reliable sourcing,” and “trusted supplier regulations for digital infrastructure” – provisions that signal closer scrutiny of foreign capital and infrastructure investment entering signatory economies going forward.
Brazil and, until this statement, Colombia had been notable absences from earlier Shield of the Americas declarations; Colombia’s signature now appears on this latest statement.
“This is an important alliance also because it gives us the opportunity to act jointly on economic issues and diplomatic issues. Our voice can be spoken in unison, and we get strength through this type of unity and one of the things that we’re focusing on,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the meeting. “These are groups that operate in different countries; they don’t recognize borders. They collaborate with each other. They don’t recognize the sovereignty of our nations. And sometimes they have the same resources the state has and sometimes even more resources than the state has. Sometimes they’re more sophisticated than the states. And the only way to take them on and to face these criminals and terrorists is for us to come together and coordinate our efforts to defeat them.”