Customs & Quarantine Agency

13/03/2026

Guam sits at the crossroads of Pacific trade and security. For Captain Barbara Camacho Tayama, Assistant Chief of Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency, that means the stakes of getting border intelligence right are high — and the Pacific Women’s Professional Development Program (PWPDP) – Advancing Intelligence Management sharpened exactly that.
🗣️ "This program strengthened my ability to view border operations through a more intelligence-led lens — so intelligence guides operations, not just supports them after the fact."
For her team on the ground, that shift is practical and immediate. Better collection, better analysis, better information sharing — officers who can anticipate threats rather than simply respond to them.
And graduating during International Women's Day week made the moment mean even more.
🗣️ "Leadership is not achieved alone. Together we learn, grow, and lift one another."
Captain Barbara is one of five women currently leading Customs administrations across the Pacific. She carries this week's graduation not just as a personal milestone, but as a reminder of what becomes possible when women across the region are invested in, connected, and empowered to lead.
🎓 Congratulations, Captain Barbara. Guam — and the Pacific — is well served.

10/03/2026

🌏 A Pacific first!
Customs officers in Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands have joined the Pacific Leadership Programme for the very first time.
The nine-month programme — delivered by OCO in partnership with New Zealand Customs Service — builds management and leadership skills among senior border agency officials across the Pacific.
Since it first ran in the Cook Islands in 2012, more than 200 Customs leaders have completed it. Now it’s reached the North Pacific.

Read the full story 👇
https://www.ocosec.org/leadership-programme-reaches-north-pacific-for-first-time/

10/03/2026

05/03/2026

27/02/2026

It's been a productive week with the Lancheros, Voyagers, and Sharks, whose bright minds were on display during their annual career days! 🌟

Officers across our airport, training and development, and maritime interdiction operations engaged with students at H.B. Price Elementary School, Jose Rios Middle School, and Simon Sanchez High School, sharing what it takes to become customs and quarantine officers, various importation guidelines, and the specialized roles our officers play in keeping threats out.

Thank you for the wonderful opportunity to share our mission!

20/02/2026

18/02/2026

Today, we recognized and bid farewell to Customs and Quarantine Officer II Joseph Pablo following his retirement after 30 years of government service. CQII Pablo, a member of the agency's 1st Cycle, was honorarily promoted to the position of CQIII upon retirement. He worked across all of Guam's ports of entry, and served as a K-9 handler responsible for significant drug seizures alongside Detector Dog Rakko. We are grateful for the good work CQIII Pablo delivered during his time with us, and wish him abundant joy and good health in his retirement years. Congratulations, sir!