Thursday, April 2, 2026 — Grab yuh coffee. Today in Guyana: dark glass, darker dealings, and at least one happy homecoming.
TINT CRACKDOWN BEGINS — “DON’T CALL ME,” SAYS MINISTER
The Guyana Police Force launched its nationwide tint enforcement operation Wednesday, the first day of actual enforcement after a three-month grace period. Motorists with window tint darker than 25% visible light transmission are being pulled over, fined $30,000, and directed to court. Home Affairs Minister Oneidge Walrond has made her position plain: “Don’t call me.” Traffic Chief Mahendra Singh has deployed calibrated tint meters at checkpoints across the country. In Berbice, several drivers were already pulled in on day one. The only question Guyanese are asking: will it be applied equally to the tinted SUVs with government plates?
— Kaieteur News
NICARAGUAN ENGINEERS ALLEGEDLY FLEE AFTER $13M AIRCRAFT PARTS THEFT
Air Services Limited (ASL) is sounding the alarm after three Nicaraguan engineers — accused of stealing over $13 million in specialised aircraft equipment — were granted station bail and subsequently failed to return to the Sparendaam Police Station as required. The men, who held work permits, abruptly resigned on Monday before their arrest Tuesday. ASL’s lawyer says he has never seen flight-risk suspects released on bail in 23 years of practice, and alleges a prominent businessman visited the station shortly before the bail was granted. The GPF has not commented. The engineers’ whereabouts are unknown.
— Kaieteur News
GUYANESE BOAT CAPTAIN FREED FROM VENEZUELAN JAIL AFTER SEVEN MONTHS
Frederick Pollard, 66, and his passenger Antonio Leboleiro Jose, 23, are finally heading home after being released from a Venezuelan prison in the State of Miranda. The two men were abducted on August 24, 2025 in the Cuyuni River by suspected sindicato gang members. For months, the GPF went quiet on the case — but Pollard’s family never gave up, eventually locating the men in February after one brief phone call. Pollard’s common-law wife travelled to Venezuela on Wednesday to bring them home. Seven months in a Venezuelan jail for fishing in the wrong river. Guyana-Venezuela relations remain, shall we say, complicated.
— Kaieteur News
U.S. AMBASSADOR: RENEGOTIATING EXXON CONTRACT IS A “VERY BAD IDEA”
Ambassador Nicole Theriot didn’t mince words on the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement, telling journalist Svetlana Marshall on SOURCES that renegotiating a signed contract sends a “terrible signal” to international investors. Under the current PSA, Guyana receives roughly 14.5% of Stabroek Block output — a figure critics have long called grossly inadequate given the block’s estimated 11.6 billion barrels. Theriot acknowledged she cannot assess the contract’s fairness, but insisted it has been beneficial. Meanwhile, Kaieteur News’s GHK Lall column this morning compared Exxon directly to Judas — so the range of opinion on this matter remains wide.
— Kaieteur News
ALBERTTOWN FIRE: OVER 40 FOREIGN NATIONALS HOMELESS
The Tuesday night fire that destroyed a multi-storey building on Fifth Street, Alberttown has left more than 40 people displaced — the majority Spanish-speaking foreign nationals from Cuba and the Dominican Republic. The 57-room building was gutted in under an hour. Acting Fire Chief Gregory Wickham confirmed the fire started around 18:30hrs and five tenders responded. Investigators are still working to determine the cause. The DHL office two doors away was not damaged — employees were seen removing documents during the blaze. Forty people sleeping on the street tonight. One building. One hour. Zero answers yet on how it started.
— Kaieteur News
OMAI CEO: GUYANA IS GOLD MINING HEAVEN
Elaine Ellingham, CEO of Omai Gold Mines, told reporters Guyana is “one of the most mining-friendly jurisdictions in the world.” Omai holds 6.5 million ounces of gold resources in Region Seven. She joins a growing chorus of Canadian gold exploration companies bullish on Guyana, with Aris Mining (5.4M oz), G Mining Ventures (4.64M oz), and G2 Goldfields (1.5M oz) all advancing projects in the same area. The sovereign wealth fund is growing. The drains in Georgetown are still the drains in Georgetown.
— Kaieteur News
UG LAUNCHES NATIONWIDE PRE-MED PROGRAMME THIS WEEK
The University of Guyana is rolling out a pre-medical programme across all ten administrative regions starting this week — the first phase targeting approximately 200 students. The initiative is part of UG’s Blueprint 2040 “One Graduate per Household” goal and aligns with the government’s construction of 14 new hospitals. The programme is being decentralised deliberately to ensure students from hinterland regions can access medical education without relocating to Georgetown. A genuinely good development that deserves more attention than it’s getting.
— Guyana Chronicle
CRICKET: GUYANA CRUSHES BARBADOS BY 76 RUNS IN U-16 REGIONAL TOURNAMENT
Guyana’s U-16 side posted a dominant 76-run victory over Barbados at the Police Sports Club Ground Wednesday in the CWI Rising Stars Men’s U-16 tournament. After posting 137-8, seamer Leon Reddy produced a sensational 4-8 from 6 overs including 3 maidens to dismiss Barbados for a paltry 61. Wicketkeeper Nathan Bishop top-scored with 37. The previous two scheduled matches between these teams had been washed out by rain, so it appears someone decided it was time to actually play some cricket.
— Kaieteur News
CARIFTA SQUAD DEPARTS TODAY FOR GRENADA
Guyana’s 24-member CARIFTA Games squad departs today for St. George’s, Grenada, where competition runs April 4-6. The AAG is confident after a strong camp, noting the presence of returning gold medalists who have competed on the same Grenada track before. The 2024 team — a similarly sized group of 23 — returned with eight medals. Safe travels to the athletes. Bring back gold.
— News Room Guyana
The Guyana Daily Brief — because somebody has to.