Guyana joined a regional bloc freezing assets, restricting immigration and visas, and imposing criminal liability on members, associates and supporters of 24 narco-terrorist organisations, under the "Shield of the Americas" initiative, a joint statement said.

The statement, released on September 22 by the US Department of State on behalf of the participating governments, said the measures specifically target individuals who knowingly provide material or logistical support to the listed groups.

Alongside the United States and Guyana, the statement was issued jointly by Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The leaders described the action as the first under three newly declared pillars of the Shield of the Americas — economic cooperation, security cooperation against narco-terrorist networks, and multilateral coordination — aimed at strengthening what they called the resilience of the Western Hemisphere.

The 24 organisations named in the statement are: Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), Tren de Aragua, Carteles Unidos, Cartel del Golfo (Gulf Cartel), La Nueva Familia Michoacana, Cartel del Noreste, Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), Cartel de Sinaloa, Gran Grif, Viv Ansanm, Los Lobos, Los Choneros, Barrio 18, Cartel de Los Soles, Clan del Golfo, Primeiro Comando da Capital, Comando Vermelho, Chone Killers, Los Viagras, Juarez Cartel (La Línea), FARC Dissident Groups — including FARC-Estado Mayor Central, FARC-Segunda Marquetalia, and their aliases, affiliates and successor groups — ELN, Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso), and Los Tiguerones.

Beyond the sanctions, participating countries intend to co-sign a formal request to the President of the Organization of American States (OAS) Permanent Council, seeking a meeting of consultation to establish an Organ of Consultation under Articles 6 and 13 of the Inter-American Treaty on Reciprocal Assistance, known as the Rio Treaty, the statement said.

Once that meeting is convoked, participants intend to engage at the ministerial level to consider a resolution promoting collective action against narco-terrorist organisations under the treaty.

States involved in the Shield of the Americas that are not currently parties to the Rio Treaty declared their support for the initiative, pledging to contribute to it in line with their international and domestic legal obligations, including through participation in the Organ of Consultation to the extent permitted under its rules of procedure.

The statement said this first joint action would focus on the 24 listed groups, regardless of how each is legally denominated in individual member countries.

The participating states said they intend to unite efforts to defend their sovereignty by collectively imposing sanctions and other measures on the 24 named narco-terrorist groups.