Guyana rejected third country nationals from US- American Ambassador

Last Updated on Wednesday, 23 September 2026, 12:08 by Written By Denis Chabrol

Armed with information from Caribbean Community (CARICOM) criminal databases, Guyana has already rejected persons from third countries that the United States (US) wanted to deport to the South American nation, American Ambassador to Guyana Nicole Theriot said Wednesday.

“The last manifest, you will know that only six people came, and the manifest was quite large so a lot of people were rejected. The government here has said they will not take anyone with a criminal record, which is absolutely appropriate and within their rights,” Ms Theriot told reporters. “They (Guyana government) make the determination based on the information that we provide, but also the  information that they have databases that they use, part of CARICOM as well,” she added.

Though the US does its own vetting, Ambassador Theriot said the non-Guyanese deportees must be approved by the Guyana government. She said the US planned to send one flight monthly with those who had been approved.  “The way that it works is that we provide a manifest and the government of Guyana selects who is acceptable, who they’d like to have, and then we will then affect that. So it really differs. It depends on how many of the people on the manifest are acceptable to the government of Guyana,” she said.

So far only Cubans and Afghans make up the six third country nationals who arrived here earlier this month.

While a top Guyana government official had said that the agreement would be for two years and that up to 12 non-Guyanese deportees could be taken monthly, the American envoy said it’s a two-year accord. She said the US provided US$7.8 million for that period to cover the International Organisation of Migration’s assistance with temporary resettlement or until they can return to their home country,  job skills training for those without skills for jobs in Guyana, health, medical, housing, food and communication with their families.

The US Ambassador said Guyana’s vetting system is also based on its own intelligence gathered on every single person to “make sure they are absolutely not letting anyone into Guyana that could cause harm.” “The government here has said they will not take anyone with  a criminal record, which is absolutely appropriate and within their rights,” she said.