William Molinie
modified to
10:38 p.m., September 30, 2022
The Ministers of the Interior and of Justice must participate in a security meeting this Friday in this overseas territory. Guyana has a high rate of crime and violence linked in particular to drug trafficking. Éric Dupond-Moretti announced the creation of a special emergency brigade within the Cayenne Court of Appeal.
Gérald Darmanin, Eric Dupond-Moretti and Gabriel Attal are taking part this Friday in a security conference in Guyana. This overseas region is plagued by crime, ultra-violence, immigration and drug trafficking. Faced with these phenomena, Guyanese justice is overwhelmed. Justice Minister Éric Dupond-Moretti has announced the creation of a special emergency brigade within the Cayenne Court of Appeal.
“I’m afraid of being robbed”
This brigade will be set up next January. Seven additional magistrates will take turns every six months. A call for air for this jurisdiction which has more than 6,000 pending files. Nevertheless, it is not certain that this measure fully meets the expectations of Guyanese. They hope for more security, especially in the street.
“There are security issues. For example, if I go out with a gold chain, I’m afraid of being robbed. There should be more people who ensure our security outside”, explains Krystal, a 14-year-old Guyanese schoolgirl at the microphone of Europe 1.
53% of the population below the poverty line
On paper, Guyana is rather well provided in terms of staff with 49 police and gendarmes for 10,000 inhabitants against 31 in mainland France. Nevertheless, this figure is insufficient to deal with the phenomenon of mules, these women responsible for transporting drugs by ingesting cocaine balls. According to a policeman from the Cayenne BAC, they are getting younger and younger: “The mule phenomenon in Guyana, we could compare it with the lookouts in mainland France. Young people who no longer go to school because they earn a lot money to keep watch at the entrance to the cities. The profile of the mules is atypical but there are many very young people to clog the system”.
The security situation goes far beyond the sole action of the police. In Guyana, 53% of the population lives below the poverty line.