United States Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Memorandum
Date: 12/4/78
To: Mr. Moore
From: J. O. Ingram
Subject: RYMUR
At the instruction of Deputy Assistant Director James O. Ingram, at 9:30 AM, on 12/3/78, Supervisor [name deleted] telephonically contacted Robert Oglesby, at Georgetown, Guyana, and discussed with Oglesby a newspaper article entitled “How The Press Took Over Guyana,” written by Lawrence [Laurence] Stern and Richard Harwood, which appeared in the Sunday, December 3, 1978, edition of the Washington Post.
In part, the above article dealt with incidents of criminal assault against citizens on the streets of Georgetown, Guyana. The article stated, “Within the first 24 hours of the great press descent, several reporters had encountered a quaint welcome on the streets of the city. These are described as ‘choke-and-rob,’ in which the new visitor has his arm grabbed suddenly from behind or his windpipe given a sharp blow while he is separated from his watch or wallet. Eventually the Guyanese government issued warnings to the press as part of its formal indoctrination to the country. Reporters found themselves taking cabs for half a block between their hotels and their destinations to avoid these costly encounters. One FBI agent, accosted by a choke-and-robber, shot him on the spot, not fatally.”
SA Oglesby was questioned regarding the above newspaper account and he advised that the matter was a false rumor completely without basis which apparently was generated by the media personnel. He stated that the rumor initially came to light approximately one week ago when he, Mr. Oglesby, was the only FBI Agent in Guyana. In fact, at the time the rumor alleges the incident took place Oglesby was on a trip to Jonestown.
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Ingram to Mr. Moore Memorandum
RE: RYMUR
Oglesby advised that neither he nor any of the Agents in Guyana are armed. In addition, Oglesby advised he contacted the Georgetown police authorities attempting to determine the basis of the above rumor. The result of this contact was that the Georgetown authorities were unable to identify any incident which could be considered the factual basis from which this rumor emanated.
Regarding the physical security of FBI personnel currently in Georgetown, Mr. Oglesby advised that he is currently staying at the Pegasus Hotel, and the other for Agents are residing at the home of [name deleted] in Georgetown. Both the hotel and the residence have security guard personnel on a 24-hour basis. In addition, the Bureau personnel have been afforded office space in the American Consulate. [short deletion]
As a final comment on the Washington Post article, Mr. Oglesby advised that there is indeed a certain amount of street crime in Georgetown however, he suggests the Washington Post account a gross exaggeration of the situation.
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