WHILE JAMAICA’S security forces intensify their hunt for “most wanted” reputed dealer in illicit drugs and guns Christopher “Dudus” Coke for extradition to the United States, Venezuela has chosen to increase its pressure on Washington to extradite to Caracas a “most wanted terrorist”.
He is Cuban-born naturalised Venezuelan citizen Luis Posada Carilles, wanted in connection with his involvement in the 1976 bombing of a Cubana aircrat off Barbados in which 73 people perished.
Killings, mayhem and spreading fears have been a virtual way of life in so-called “garrison” communities of Jamaica, such as Coke’s Tivoli Gardens base of illegal operations that landed him in the files of US authorities as a “most wanted” foreign criminal.
The controversies over Kingson’s delay in responding to Washington’s request have led to tensions in their relations.
But the legal arrangements for Coke’s extradition are now proceeding in the Jamaica court system, even as the don’s “kingdom” in Tivoli is crumbling under the heavy guns of security forces.
In contrast, however, to the official foot-dragging over some nine months by Prime Minister Bruce Golding’s government to facilitate – under a bilateral treary – Coke’s extradition to the US, “Uncle Sam” has been contemptuously and sysematically ignoring – under successive Washington administrations – extradition demands from Venezuela.ParliamentThe refusal to grant Venezuela’s extradition requests had started with the presidency of George Bush senior, and prior to the emergence of a government in Caracas under President Hugo Chavez.
Having previously been ignored, the Chavez government moved to involve parliament. And its National Assembly last Tuesday approved a resolution demanding the extradition of Posada Carilles.
He, along with another anti-Cuba exile then in Venezuela, Orlando Bosch – a Cuban American – were wanted for the 1976 terrorist bombing of the Cubana aircraft.
In calling on President Barack Obama’s administration for the extradition of Posada, the Venezuelan parliament noted that the demand had been reinforced by additional testimony received from relatives of the victims of the Cubana bombing tragedy.
The two wanted Cuban exiles – Posada and Bosch – have long been identified as the chief plotters behind the Cubana bombing on October 6, 1976, when 57 Cubans, 11 Guyanese and five North Koreans died.
Instead of facilitating their extradition as fugitive terrorists from justice, then President Bush, in response to urgings from the anti-Fidel Castro lobby
in Miami and Washington as well as from son Jebb Bush, then Governor of Florida, granted Bosch a “presidential pardon”. Even before a US immigration judge would rule against Posada’s extradition to Venezuela on the contention that he would be subject to “torture while in custody”, CARICOM foreign ministers had called at a meeting for him to face a court trial for his involvement in the Cubana bombing tragedy.CARICOM’s moment It was felt that if the rule of law was to prevail and justice was to be served in what CARICOM has officially recognised as “the worst human tragedy” to have occured by a terrorist act in Caribbean airspace.
No double standards on implementation of bilateral extradition treaties should be permitted on the part of Jamaica and US in the case of Christopher Coke or that involving Venezuela and America forthe extradition of Posada (Bosch having already secured a “presidential pardon”.
This is certainly a matter of regional importance and urgency that should be dispassionately discussed and a relevant decision taken at the upcoming 31st annual CARICOM Heads of Government Conference scheduled for November 3 to 7 in Montego Bay.
While the Bush administrations (father and son) had made what critics view as a mockery of the existing extradition treaty between the US and Canada, the reaility is that the Obama administration cannot seriously claim unawarness of its own obligation in relation to CARICOM’s earlier call for Posada to be brought to justice for the enormous human tragedy in which he and US collaboration have been so well exposed.
Against the backdrop of issues discussed at the recent Washington Dialogue on Security Cooperation between US and CARICOM, embraced at last week’s meeting in Barbados of the community’s foreign ministers and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, there is another related issue.
It is the proposed initiative of US Attorney General Eric Holder for CARICOM governments to be willing to accept “resident US security advisors”. This is a matter that involves concerns over “sovereignty” and one that all nations like to emphasise whenever necessary or expedient.
If this issue surfaces during the summit’s discussion on “crime and security”, as is likely, it is reasonable to assume that CARICOM leaders may also consider it relevant to question the modalities of compilation of annual US State Department reports on sensitive matters of mutual interest like drugs and human trafficking.The US authors never fail to adopt the postures of lecturing and reprimanding this region over such reports.
Perhaps CARICOM should consider requesting the Obama administration to accept “resident” Caribbean officials to learn how such reports are prepared for official circulation and the approaches by US authorities in curbing trafficking in drugs and humans at the domestic level.
