US reopens diplomatic office in Guinea-Bissau

BISSAU, July 7 (Reuters) The United States reopened a diplomatic office in Guinea-Bissau today after a decade of absence, amid fears the West African country is becoming a growing hub for Latin American drug traffickers.

Washington closed its diplomatic mission in Bissau more than ten years ago, shortly before a brief civil war, but has since maintained diplomatic relations with the former Portuguese colony through its embassy in neighbouring Senegal.

''Reopening this office paves the way for the reopening of a US Embassy in Guinea-Bissau,'' US Ambassador to Senegal Janice Jacobs said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Bissau.

With its lawless, island-dotted Atlantic shoreline, Guinea-Bissau has become a major hub for smuggled Colombian cocaine on its way to lucrative markets in Europe and elsewhere, prompting calls for international action to stem the trade.

Washington challenged the country's government last month over its sacking of a police chief who won international praise for tackling Latin American cocaine traffickers, saying the move marked a step backwards in the fight.

''Narco-trafficking is a tremendous concern. The European Union has also expressed its concern and we hear from a lot of citizens there that they are worried about it,'' said Claud Young, a spokesman for the US embassy in Dakar.

He said opening the diplomatic liaison office was part of a five-year programme to return to a full diplomatic presence in Guinea-Bissau.

The desperately poor country of less than 1.5 million people has seen repeated bouts of fighting and instability over the past four decades and most of its people survive by fishing or growing cashew nuts.

The instability, coupled with high-level corruption, makes it fertile ground for drugs gangs, security experts say.

Struggling with heavy debt and a collapsing economy, it has not paid public workers for months.

Police in Senegal last week arrested seven people from countries including Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela after finding more than 2,454 kg of cocaine with a European street value of more than 0 million, its biggest ever drugs seizure.

Officials said Guinea-Bissau was the entry point for the drugs after finding plane tickets from Rio de Janeiro to Bissau in the documents seized during the haul.

REUTERS SV RK1800