Jonestown deaths occurred in Port Kaituma when Leo Ryan, a US Congressman from California, and others were gunned down while boarding a small Twin Otter aircraft on the local airstrip. In the aftermath and clean-up operation that ensued, the Guyanese Government prohibited any dead bodies from being buried on the site of the commune. This however didn't stop locals from scavenging the worthless garbage left behind from the property. Over the next 25 years, a large foreign-owned logging company came and went, the manganese factory at Matthews Ridge ceased working and the railway linking Matthews Ridge and Port Kaituma was closed and in some parts cut up. The school's importance diminished and fell into a state of disrepair. Today, Kaituma serves as the gateway to the nearby jungle where the now predominant industry of small-scale gold mining takes place. The transient nature of many of these pork-knockers (gold miners) has led to problems of gun crime, robbery, murder and bribery in the unpoliced hinterlands. This however does not perturb a continual flow of workers through the town, including a recent influx of Brazilians. Public services Port Kaituma Community School provides nursery through secondary education. A hospital was commissioned in 2020. Also in 2020, Guyana Gold Board opened an office in Port Kaituma for testing and buying gold. See also Mining in Guyana References Populated places in Barima-Waini Peoples Temple