Daniel P. Erikson, the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASD) for the Western Hemisphere at the U.S. Department of Defense, is in Guyana from January 8 to 9, 2024. This visit, according to the U.S. Embassy in Guyana, underscores the ongoing significance the United States places on its defense and security partnership with Guyana.
DASD Erikson, in charge of defense and security policy across the 34-nation hemisphere including Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and South and Central America, will engage in meetings with the Government of Guyana, the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), and Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders. These discussions will focus on the U.S. defense and security partnership with Guyana and its regional partners. Erikson’s trip, his first overseas journey in 2024, highlights the bilateral defense and security partnership’s significance as the GDF grows and modernizes its defense institutions, the Embassy said.
The visit aims to reinforce U.S. commitments to working closely with its allies to strengthen alliances and partnerships, and comes on the heels of recent aggression by the government of Venezuela against Guyana for the Essequibo region. Guyana and the U.S. intend to improve interoperability, deepen information-sharing and planning, and conduct joint and combined exercises, the U.S. Embassy said.
In December 2023, the Embassy announced that the U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) and the Guyana Defence Force would collaborate on flight operations in Guyana. The exercise was part of routine engagement and operations to enhance the security partnership between the United States and Guyana and to strengthen regional cooperation.
Additionally, USSOUTHCOM’s ongoing collaboration with the GDF encompasses areas like disaster preparedness, aerial and maritime security, and countering transnational criminal organizations.
