Published on March 27, 2008

Travel Alert: Guyana

Recent events in Lusignan and Bartica by armed criminal elements.

Travellers should carefully consider the risks of travel to Guyana in light of recent attacks in the Georgetown suburb of Lusignan and the Essequibo River town of Bartica. In both places, attacks were conducted by heavily armed gangs.

The January 26 and February 17 attacks resulted in the deaths of twenty Guyanese civilians, including five children, and three Guyanese police officers.

Due to the seemingly random nature of these crimes, the disparate locations in which they occurred, and the fact that the perpetrators have not all yet been apprehended, additional attacks in other parts of the country cannot be ruled out.

Guyanese authorities are conducting an investigation in response to the recent incidents and may institute further actions or precautions, including roadblocks or other measures.