The US Embassy in Dhaka confirmed that the U.S. will provide the necessary funds to continue with a training programme for Bangladesh Police personnel, which was stopped temporarily in 2024, and with which an American private security contractor was involved before he suddenly left five days after the August 31, 2025, discovery of the body of a former US Special Forces officer in a Dhaka hotel room.
The US’ interest in reviving the training programme, which in 2023-2024 was being conducted at the Sardah-based Bangladesh Police Academy in Rajshahi district, is intriguing since it was previously guided by Richard Daniel Roman, an American private security contractor who worked for Makwa Global LLC.
Roman, who stayed for a prolonged period of time at Rajshahi’s Grand River View Hotel, also imparted weapons training to Bangladesh Police personnel at the Sardah Field Firing Range, Northeast News had reported when he suddenly vacated his room at the hotel five days after the body of Terrence Arvelle Jackson, US Special Forces officer, was discovered at The Westin Hotel in Dhaka on August 31, 2025.
As an employee of Makwa Global LLC, Roman is now part of a training programme for members of the Pakistan Police.
The US Embassy’s interest in restarting the training programme came up during American Ambassador to Bangladesh Brent Christensen’s visit to Rajshahi on June 16. Christensen was accompanied by four other US diplomats.
The purpose of Christensen’s visit was to assess the possibility of restarting training programmes for the police that had been conducted with US assistance until 2024. During the visit, Christensen reportedly expressed interest in introducing updated versions of similar long-term training initiatives for members of the Bangladesh Police.
The academy’s principal, Azizur Rahman, told journalists that under agreements between the governments of the US and Bangladesh, the US had historically supported several police training programmes at the academy.
According to him, these programmes often brought in instructors from what he described as “US private military organisations.”
During the visit, members of the US delegation held a closed-door meeting with Azizur Rahman and also met officials at various levels before the formal discussions.
The report notes that under a similar training arrangement, several American private security or military specialists had been staying at Rajshahi’s Grand River View Hotel until 2024. Subsequently, some observers reportedly questioned whether these individuals were, in fact, private military contractors.
According to the report, the broader Rajshahi visit was publicly presented as a leisure or sightseeing tour. Christensen was photographed appreciating mangoes in a Rajshahi market.
He visited historical sites at Bagha and Sonamasjid, watched a Godrej-ACI-operated food processing unit before touring the Puthia Rajbari. The US Ambassador did not, however, visit the Natore Rajbari.
From the afternoon of June 16 until late at night, Christensen reportedly held a series of meetings at Rajshahi’s Grand River View Hotel with several influential individuals.
Those said to have been present included Rezaul Karim Raju, Rajshahi Bureau Chief of The Daily Inqilab, H M Mahmudur Rahman, Senior District Judge of Rajshahi, Mohammad Shahjahan Mia, Deputy Inspector General of Police for Rajshahi Range, Mohammad Faizul Kabir, Commissioner of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police, Gaziur Rahman, Deputy Police Commissioner of the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) Unit and Mitali, Public Prosecutor of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal.
At least six officials from the Rajshahi detachment of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), including a colonel identified as the GS (General Staff) officer, were seen at the same hotel during the same period.
However, neither side confirmed that any meeting took place between them and the US delegation.
On June 17, Ambassador Christensen visited the Sonamasjid land port in Chapainawabganj. The American diplomats observed immigration screening procedures before proceeding to a nearby Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) border outpost where Christensen met Lieutenant Colonel Tajul Islam Chowdhury, Commanding Officer of BGB’s 59th Battalion.
According to sources familiar with the meeting, Christensen sought information regarding cross-border “push-in” incidents along the India-Bangladesh frontier. The BGB commander reportedly briefed him on various incidents and developments related to the issue.
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