- Six nationals from Cuba and Afghanistan to await immigration decisions in Guyana
GEORGETOWN: Guyana has received its first group of deportees from the United States under a third-country deportation arrangement established during the Trump administration, the government said Saturday.
Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud said six nationals from Cuba and Afghanistan arrived on Friday after being vetted by Guyanese authorities and found to have no criminal records. He said they were removed from the United States primarily over immigration-related issues.
Persaud said the agreement followed months of negotiations and will remain in effect for one year. He stressed that the arrangement does not constitute permanent resettlement and said the US had made no further requests for additional deportees.
UN Agency to Implement Programme
The deportees were relocated under an Assisted Voluntary Return Program and will remain in Guyana while their immigration status is assessed. They could eventually return to their countries of origin or be transferred elsewhere.
The UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) is responsible for implementing the programme, while Guyana’s government will not bear housing or related support costs.
Guyana is the latest Caribbean nation to accept small groups of US deportees. St. Kitts and Nevis, Belize and St. Lucia have also agreed to receive deportees under similar arrangements.
BY: The Times Union
