No Cuba-Jamaica rift, says Lewin

FORMER COMMISSIONER of Police, Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin, has weighed in on the WikiLeaks development in Jamaica, claiming that Senior Superintendent of Police Carlton Wilson was reassigned under his watch, but noting that it had nothing to do with complaints from Cuba.

National Security Minister Dwight Nelson, in a report to Prime Minister Bruce Golding last week, admitted that the Cubans had expressed concern about Jamaica's less-than-cooperative response to the fight against illegal drug trafficking in the region.

In an interview with The Gleaner/Power 106 News, Lewin said Wilson's reassignment was a routine one, and the senior cop was not the only one to be moved. Lewin also said that he had no recollection of Cuba having a problem with the force, as suggested by the leaked United States cable.

The former police commissioner called the handling of the WikiLeaks cable by the Jamaican Government unfortunate.

POA rejects claims

And the Police Officers' Association (POA) has rejected claims by the Government that Wilson, who headed the anti-narcotics unit, was reassigned because he refused to cooperate with Cuba in the anti-drug fight in the region.

Nelson, in his report on the WikiLeaks revelation, had said: "The investigations confirmed that in 2009, concern was expressed by officials of the Cuban Ministry of Interior about the failure of the unit within the JCF (Jamaica Constabulary Force) to adequately respond to communication from its Cuban counterpart."

The statement said that the officer who headed the unit and who had been assigned in 2006 was replaced, and the unit was reorganised and renamed the Transnational Crimes Narcotics Division.

However, Chairman of the POA, Senior Superintendent Michael James, said Wilson's reassignment was routine.

James noted that Wilson reported that his reassignment was a promotion.

He said Wilson and his family were distressed by the claims.

The US cable, which is among more than 200,000 obtained by whistle-blower website WikiLeaks, stated that Cuban anti-drug officials were frustrated with Jamaica's efforts to battle drug trafficking in the region.