Launch of National Defense Institute: President Ali challenges body to conduct comprehensive analysis of gang movements within the region

– findings to be submitted at the upcoming Caricom Security Meeting

In a bid to improve security education and training, the Guyana government on Wednesday established the National Defence Institute (NDI). The institute has already received its first mandate from the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, President Dr Irfaan Ali, to conduct a comprehensive study on the movements of gangs within the region.
The mission of the NDI is to train Joint Service Officers and their civilian counterparts through a defence, security and development focused curriculum, delivered in a civil-military context, thereby better equipping them to assume mid to senior level operational and strategic roles within their parent organisations. The overarching vision is for the Institute to be a leading academic institution in defence, security and development studies in Guyana and the Americas.
Speaking at the launch on Wednesday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) in Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, President Ali indicated that the institute will focus on academic research and the preparation of action plans and analyses of the threats and challenges facing the region.
One such threat that the Guyanese head of state believes needs to be analyzed is the criminal gang network in the region. According to Ali, leaders have not been able to strategically determine which gangs are active here because there has been no strategic study on migration and the movement of people in the region.

“Those who are aware of how gangs operate know that simple things like tattoos and symbols can give an idea of ​​the size of gangs, different gangs and the complexity of gangs that operate in our society. And this is a threat to the region and a threat to us. If we do not get to the bottom of this analytically, our small societies will face an immense danger. It is already facing a great danger, but an immense danger that can destabilize our economy, destabilize our society and cause chaos,” he said.
Therefore, Ali tasked the newly created agency to conduct a “comprehensive analysis” of the gangs in the region, with a specific focus on the movement and migration patterns of the criminal gang network within the region.
“(NDI will look at) what attracts them? How do they move… What motivates them? And sometimes you see gangs believing that there is a weak institutional framework or a weak system that allows them to infiltrate one jurisdiction more easily than another, or that it’s easy to get a supply of weapons in. So, we’ll know what influences or motivates gangs to operate in certain areas.”
“(We also need to look at) the material, because gangs don’t just move, they need to have material that supports their operation. So we need to do an analysis of that and the management. Who is managing it again? How are they covered and the links and life cycle of the gangs? So that is direct work that the Institute is producing,” President Ali said.

Regional Institute
The Guyanese leader further challenged NDI to complete this study so that the findings can be presented at an upcoming regional security meeting to be held in Barbados. In this way, he explained, the institute would be able to position itself at the regional level.
According to President Ali, the goal is to develop the NDI into the intelligence and defense security agency in the Caribbean.
“The National Defense Institute is a regional institution and within a short period of time we want it to become the premier intelligence and security agency in the region. We want this institution to be the institution that trains all our strategic thinkers in the field of defense and security,” he noted.
Although this institution falls under the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), it will work closely with strategic partners to deliver its mandate.
At the regional level, the NDI will work with the Regional Security System (RSS) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS).

However, the Institute’s key strategic partners are the United States National Defense University and the Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies, which played a pivotal role in conceptualizing the curriculum for the NDI programs administered through the University of Guyana (UG).
With the NDI as a sister institute to the NDU and the Perry Center, it will be used to train individuals within CARICOM, South America and Central America. The NDI is currently finalizing arrangements to have all of its certificates accredited so that those credits can be transferred to postgraduate or non-doctoral programs.
In addition, the Institute is keen to draw on the expertise of a number of ‘big names’ in the regional and global security sector, including former presidents, former generals and military leaders, former US secretaries of state, former secretaries of security and defence, and both former and current members of academia, in addition to diplomats.
At the national level, President Ali stressed during the launch on Wednesday that the NDI is part of a much larger plan aimed at protecting and safeguarding Guyana’s national interests against any threat, particularly Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
These sentiments were echoed by NDI Chairman Colonel Sheldon Howell, who said, “The National Defense Institute will serve as a critical platform for developing strategies and policies that will protect our nation’s interests. The leaders trained here will be instrumental in creating sustainable security programs that not only protect our sovereignty but also contribute to the broader goals of national development.”
Colonel Howell recalled that after the announcement of the establishment of the institute a little over a year ago, an advisory board was appointed, along with a director and an assistant director. Since then, several agreements have been signed with various universities and academic institutions to get the institute up and running.
According to the NDI Chairman, Guyana is now poised to develop into a more important and dynamic strategic influential player both regionally and globally, thanks to the establishment of this institution.
“In a rapidly changing environment characterised by both traditional and emerging threats – including territorial claims, illegal migration and transnational organised crime – the need for a well-trained cadre of security professionals has never been more urgent,” he said.
Meanwhile, NDI Director Dr. Randolph Persaud added that they are “ready to get started” and will begin by focusing on four areas of research and teaching: Foreign Policy and Diplomacy; Strategic Studies; Human Security and Development; and Civil-Military Relations.
The first class – a certificate in defense studies – is set to begin soon, and Dr. Persaud says a full bachelor’s program and a master’s degree in defense studies are currently in the planning stages.
On the training side, the NDI director said they will soon hold a table-top exercise on emergency rescue and evacuation operations. Another focus area will be cybersecurity training for CEOs and heads of state agencies.
The other members of the NDI are Assistant Director Seon Levius; Ambassador Elizabeth Harper; Assistant Commissioner of Police Simon McBean; Lieutenant Colonel Eon Murray; Lieutenant Colonel Andy Pompey and Ms Debbie Hopkinson. (G-8)