Nearly a quarter-century after one of Guyana’s top anti-drug officials was assassinated in cold blood, the current head of the country’s lead narcotics enforcement agency is facing a public death threat that has triggered an urgent, large-scale probe by national security authorities.
James Singh, who leads the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU), was targeted in a threatening video circulated on social media, Guyana’s Home Affairs Ministry confirmed in an official statement released Monday. The video depicts a hooded individual holding what appears to be a loaded handgun pointed directly at a printed image of Singh.
All threats targeting public servants executing their official duties are classified as severe criminal offenses under Guyanese law, the ministry emphasized. In response, multiple law enforcement agencies have launched an active investigation to trace the source of the video, verify its authenticity, and uncover the intentions of those behind it. Security measures have also been ramped up to protect Singh and other at-risk personnel, the statement added.
Officials noted the threat comes amid a major intensification of national anti-narcotics operations across Guyana. In recent months, CANU-led intelligence-driven operations have pulled 371 kilograms of illegal narcotics off the streets and dismantled multiple cross-border drug trafficking networks. Just two years ago, CANU agents working alongside Guyanese military personnel uncovered a massive 4.4-tonne cache of cocaine hidden in underground bunkers near an unapproved airstrip in Matthews Ridge, located in the country’s North West District. The ministry stressed that this operational context does not predetermine the outcome of the ongoing investigation into the threat.
The incident evokes dark memories of a 2002 assassination that still looms over Guyana’s anti-drug efforts. In August of that year, Vibert Inniss, then deputy head of CANU, was shot multiple times and killed in his car while stopped on the Buxton Public Road to buy newspapers. His murder came just six months after a violent prison break that gave rise to heavily armed criminal gangs with ties to drug trafficking. Senior U.S. law enforcement representatives were among the attendees at Inniss’s funeral, a testament to the global significance of his anti-narcotics work.
The Guyanese government has issued a firm rebuke of the intimidation attempt, making clear that threats against law enforcement will not weaken the country’s commitment to rooting out organized crime. “Intimidation will not succeed,” the government stated, adding that anyone who threatens officials upholding public safety will face the full weight of the law.
The Home Affairs Ministry reaffirmed that the national campaign to dismantle both domestic and transnational organized criminal networks will continue unimpeded, pursued with steady resolve, inter-agency coordination, and unwavering focus. “No individual or group will be allowed to undermine the rule of law or threaten those tasked with upholding it,” the ministry said.