Dear Editor,
Your editorial of August 30, 2026, posed a timely and troubling question:
“How is the Government’s post-Barima strategy being shaped? Is it guided by political instinct, professional communications advisers, sophisticated data analytics, artificial intelligence-or some combination of them all?”
Whatever methods are being employed, no political strategy, public-relations campaign, data model or artificial-intelligence system can substitute for humanity, accountability, transparency and decisive leadership. The victims, their families and the entire nation deserve justice, fair compensation and truthful answers—not continued delay, secrecy or political spin.
Guyanese at home and abroad are rightly asking: What explains the Government’s shocking delay in raising and preserving the MV Barima, accounting for the expenditure of public funds, completing a credible and independent investigation, providing truthful answers, adequately compensating the victims and their families, and bringing closure to this national tragedy?
Do these failures reflect indifference, arrogance, incompetence, political calculation-or a callous disregard for human suffering?
Ultimately, history will judge this administration not by the sophistication of its messaging, but by the urgency, compassion, transparency and integrity of its response-or lack thereof. The MV Barima tragedy has become a defining test of its leadership-and will become its defining legacy. Dark clouds have gathered.
Yours faithfully,
Hon. Albert Baldeo
Community Leader and Judicial Delegate
“Little Guyana,” Queens, New York
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