Diplomatic Briefing
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Newsline: Six months or $10,000 for lying to US embassy
A woman who presented a forged document to the United States embassy was ordered to pay $10,000 or serve a six month sentence when she appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday. Police say the woman Nastasha Bogle, presented a falsified bank statement when she applied for a US Visa. Investigations revealed that the document was fake and Bogle was arrested and charged.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Six-months-or–10-000-for-lying-to-US-embassy
Consular affairs: Suspected Jamaican human trafficker nabbed at US embassy
The lives of 17 Jamaican children in the United States may today be in danger after they were adopted and shipped off to that country by a woman the local police believe may be part of a major human trafficking ring operating between both countries. Local police, with the help of US law enforcement officials, are currently trying to track down the children, aged between five and 16. Detectives believe that more than the 17 children could well have been victims of the illicit trade. The human trafficking scheme was uncovered last week after the woman — a 53-year-old resident of Pleasant District in Bog Walk, St Catherine — was arrested by the Flying Squad at the United States Embassy in Kingston where she had presented forged documents in an effort to secure a US visa for a 16-year-old girl whom she had recently adopted. Detectives believe that the woman had been operating the scheme for about two years before she was arrested. According to the source, the accused, when cautioned, told the police that she was being paid J$60,000 for each child she sent to the United States. So far, she has been charged with forging adoption papers. However, the woman could be slapped with human trafficking charges as detectives deepen that aspect of their investigation.
http://www.stabroeknews.com/2011/news/regional/12/18/suspected-jamaican-human-trafficker-nabbed-at-us-embassy-in-kingston-2/
US embassy cables: Jamaica government is two-faced
The United States Embassy in Kingston labelled the Golding administration as two-faced and suggested that the prime minister was less than honest on at least two occasions when he first responded to questions in Parliament about the extradition request for Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke. A secret diplomatic cable from the embassy claimed that hours after Prime Minister Golding’sDecember 8, 2009fiery responses in Parliament about the extradition request for the alleged strongman, a high-ranking Cabinet member was on the phone apologising for the comments.
Newsline: Jamaica PM says US Embassy officials harassed his government
Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding said that U.S. Embassy officials displayed a “belligerent attitude” toward his government after Washington sought the extradition of a reputed crime boss with ties to his political party. Golding said the U.S. Embassy’s charge d’affaires pressured his justice minister to quickly hand over alleged drug kingpin Christoper “Dudus” Coke during at least two phone calls within days of his government receiving the August 2009 extradition request. “I interpret that kind of behavior as harassment,” Golding testified to a fact-finding commission examining his government’s handling of the extradition request for Coke. The prime minister resisted the U.S. extradition request for nine months, arguing Coke’s indictment on gun and drug trafficking charges relied on illegal wiretap evidence. The stance strained relations with Washington, which questioned Jamaica’s reliability as an ally in the fight against drug trafficking.
Newsline: US cop held for stealing from Jamaican diplomat
A United States policeman was taken into custody by his colleagues in Atlanta after he was interdicted for stealing US$2,000 from the purse of a Jamaican diplomat. The policeman, who is now under investigation, is reportedly to have taken the money when the woman, who is employed to a Jamaican government ministry, left her pouch at the airport in Atlanta. According to a report on Fox 5 news, the diplomat in question is now on assignment in Europe. The network said the Atlanta police are now reportedly in discussion with the Clayton County District Attorney to determine if criminal charges will be pursued against the policeman. The diplomat, who left her bag behind, has also reportedly said she is cooperating with this investigation. The report indicates that the diplomat was making her way through Atlanta’s busy airport, near carousel #7 where she picked up her bags and walked out to the curb to be picked up. According to further police reports, she then realised she had left her black pouch on a seat with her passport and US$2,000 cash inside. She returned inside the airport where a passenger explained to her that the pouch had been turned in at the AirTrans counter. The report further indicates that a person at the counter told the diplomat that an Atlanta policeman, identified as Steven Brown, had taken the pouch and planned to turn it in to Lost and Found. On that advice, she reportedly checked with Lost and Found and was told that they had not received the pouch. Moments later, Brown handed her the pouch, saying he had found it in the bathroom. However, after the diplomat checked the pouch, she found her passport but the US$2,000 was gone. The Atlanta Police Department released a statement saying, “Chief Turner believes that no Atlanta police officer is above the law, and should be held accountable for his or her actions.” The report later states that the diplomat had issued a statement saying that the Atlanta police returned the money to her. Brown also reportedly said through a union spokesperson that he is sorry, regretful and embarrassed that the situation occurred.
Newsline: Jamaican ‘drug baron’ held on way to embassy
The alleged Jamaican drug baron Christopher “Dudus” Coke has been arrested in Kingston on his way to hand himself in to the American embassy after a month-long manhunt. Mr Coke was detained by police on the outskirts of the Jamaican capital more than a month after the government’s announcement that it would help to extradite him to America sparked four days of violence in which 76 people were killed. The Rev Al Miller, a local evangelical preacher, said Mr Coke, 42, had asked for his help in ensuring he could turn himself in at the U.S. embassy without falling into the hands of the local police. However, the car carrying Mr Miller and Mr Coke, reportedly wearing a wig as disguise, was stopped at a checkpoint and officers recognized him. According to Mr Miller, Mr Coke intends to waive his rights to an extradition hearing so he can go to New York to be tried on drug and gun trafficking charges. Mr Coke had eluded capture since Bruce Golding, Jamaica’s prime minister, finally agreed to U.S. requests for his extradition after nine months of defending a suspect regarded as a prominent supporter of the ruling Labour Party.
Newsline: US Embassy in Jamaica on Edge Over ‘Drug War’
The United States Embassy in Jamaica is suspending all visa operations and nonessential services for Americans as violence continues to escalate in the island nation’s capital. A travel alert remains in effect for the area. The State Department issued the alert on Friday after masked men defending Christopher Coke, a reputed drug kingpin who the U.S. has been trying to extradite since August, went rampaging through the streets of Kingston. Three people were killed in the weekend violence, and Coke’s supporters barricaded themselves behind a makeshift fortress of junk cars and barbed wire. The Jamaican government declared a state of emergency as the situation intensified.
http://foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=22995&content=38803355
