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artemis
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16 Aug 2015 17:51 #267971
by artemis
confirms probe of US consular official in Guyana
Judson Berger
By Judson BergerPublished July 08, 2013FoxNews.com
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guyana_embassy.jpg
Shown here is the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown, Guyana. (State Department)
The State Department acknowledged it is investigating alleged "improprieties" regarding a consular official who until recently was posted to Guyana, following reports he was trading visas for money and possibly sex.
The department said in a statement it was "aware" of the allegations, without going into detail.
"The department takes all allegations of misconduct by employees seriously," a spokeswoman said in an email.
"We are reviewing the matter thoroughly. If the allegations are substantiated, we will work with the relevant authorities to hold anyone involved accountable."
The department would not identify the individual, though media reports in Guyana have.
Mark Benschop, publisher of the Guyana Observer, told FoxNews.com that his organization's investigation shows that the U.S. employee was in touch with "questionable characters" ranging from "unscrupulous businessmen" to people in the drug trade.
Benschop said the officer was either part of a scam or "manipulated" into getting involved.
He said one source close to the individual explicitly claimed he was trading visas for money -- Benschop said rates were said to be as high as $40,000, though the officer presumably would have split that money with others.
The Guyana Observer also reported last week on allegations that the official issued "dozens of visas" to Guyanese women for sex.
Benschop told FoxNews.com that it might not have been a quid pro quo with the women -- "not necessarily 'have sex with me and I'll give you a visa'" -- but it came close.
He also said the officer was removed from his South American post and sent back to Virginia recently, well before his assignment was scheduled to end in September.
AFP previously cited "government sources in Guyana" as saying the official used a popular Georgetown, Guyana, restaurant and bar to conduct his business. Another local media report claimed the alleged visa scam may have been going on for months.
The allegations conjure bad memories in Guyana, coming 13 years after a former U.S. embassy official -- Thomas Carroll -- was arrested, and ultimately imprisoned, on charges of selling U.S. visas for thousands of dollars apiece.
Benschop explained that some in Guyana use the services of what are known as "backtrackers" -- black-market operatives who charge money for people having difficulty obtaining a visa. They then coordinate with "corrupt" embassy officials, with whom they split the money, to facilitate the issuance of the visas.
Benschop said the individual in question had been seen on trips with "known backtrackers."
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renegade
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Kwami
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16 Aug 2015 20:35 #267976
by Kwami
All bull s*** Benchop is a PNC hack . Problem is that the US is dishing out visas to Indo Guyanese and denying visas to Afro Guyanese , object being to empty the country of Indos and I can prove it.
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Kwami
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16 Aug 2015 21:09 #267980
by Kwami
I got relatives that are so poor and aint got a pot to piss in but they got 10year visas to the good ole a USof A but my Afro friends in Guyana who I went to school with are complaining on face book that that they cannot get a visa to go to America
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Kwami
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16 Aug 2015 21:17 #267985
by chairman
for what purpose. to keep pnc in power. is the PNC now america's darling.
Always tell someone how you feel because opportunities are lost in the blink of an eye but regret can last a lifetime.
cricketwindies.com/forum/
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Kwami
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16 Aug 2015 21:35 #267987
by Kwami
The PNC is and would be more amenable to the American foreign policy
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The Captain
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17 Aug 2015 08:30 #267998
by The Captain
but the indos want to leave
they want the american dream of working in sweat shops living in basements and strolling down liberty ave
ask Ketch he knows
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