-following arrests in missing men probe

A truck and other equipment were set on fire at Vigilance, East Coast Demerara yesterday afternoon during a protest following the reported arrest of the wife and brother of US-sanctioned Mark Cromwell  in connection with the disappearance of two Surinamese men.

Several persons blocked the roadway and burned debris as the unrest continued for hours. Police were asked about the protest in the Joint Services WhatsApp group, but up to press time there was no response and the force had issued no release on the incident.

Kiskadee Watch understands that tensions escalated when police attempted to search Cromwell’s residence as part of their investigation into the disappearance of Siegiëllo Lorenzo Van Dalen and Derryl Danillo Bont.

According to information reaching this publication, investigators were pursuing reports that the missing men had been seen in a vehicle registered to Cromwell’s wife.

Firefighters responded to the burning truck and other materials but encountered hostility from some protesters. Gunshots were also heard during the unrest, further hampering their efforts to extinguish the flames. It was not clear who fired the shots. Persons involved in the protest eventually put out the fire.

Van Dalen and Bont have been missing since late August. In a September 9 notice, Surinamese police said the men left their homes on August 28 in a white Toyota Vitz and travelled to Nickerie.

According to that notice, they left the vehicle at Clarasluis on August 29 and crossed to Guyana by boat between 11 am and 1 pm. They subsequently entered a taxi at the landing, believed to have been a black station wagon.

Guyanese police later issued an appeal for information about their whereabouts

The force said then that searches had been conducted and several persons questioned, but no useful information had been obtained.

Cromwell, a former Guyana Police Force officer also known as “Demon” and “Diamond”, was sanctioned by the United States Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on June 5, 2025.

In announcing the designation, the Treasury Department alleged that Cromwell was a drug trafficker and an associate of Paul Daby Jr, who was also sanctioned. It additionally said Cromwell was wanted by Guyanese police in connection with the 2024 abduction of a former police officer.

The sanctions were imposed under an executive order targeting persons involved in the international illicit drug trade. The Treasury allegations are separate from the current investigation into the missing Surinamese men.

Police have not publicly disclosed whether anyone has been charged in connection with the men’s disappearance or Tuesday’s unrest.