Former United States Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo is in Guyana for a private engagement.
This was confirmed by President Dr Irfaan Ali Monday who stated: “Secretary Pompeo played a very important role in ensuring that Guyana stayed the course of democracy which was very, very key when the last government tried to steal an election and steal democracy.”
Ali also confirmed that there will be a courtesy engagement with himself and Pompeo.
In September 2020, Pompeo visited Guyana and during an engagement with President Ali said that Guyana and the US have been “friends” for over five decades, and while it is the first official visit of a US Secretary of State, he committed that “it won’t be another fifty years”.
Pompeo played a prominent role in pushing for democracy in Guyana, during the tumultuous five months following the March 2 elections after there was an attempted to rig the elections.
This role included issuing statements urging the then President David Granger to adhere to the results of the elections.
It was Pompeo who announced visa restrictions against Guyanese officials responsible for undermining democracy. He had also urged the then President Granger, who at the time was being kept in power by virtue of court cases filed by his party supporters, to step aside.
