Captured by criminals?

THE NINE-monthlong face-off between Kingston and Washington over the extradition request for alleged drug lord Christopher 'Dudus' Coke triggered speculation within the United States government that garrison dons and criminals might have captured the Golding administration.

A secret diplomatic cable from the US Embassy in Liguanea, St Andrew, described as "troubling" the Jamaican Government's "recalcitrance in granting US extradition requests, suggesting a lack of seriousness in addressing Jamaica's crime problems, or even the possibility that garrison dons and criminal elements have captured the GOJ (Government of Jamaica)".

The Gleaner has gained access to the secret cable through the whistle-blowing entity called WikiLeaks.

In January 2010 when the Obama administration and the Golding government were at a stalemate over two extradition requests, US officials in Jamaica sent the cable to their superiors in Washington taking issue with Jamaica.

"Attorney General Dorothy Lightbourne's recent refusal to extradite Presley Bingham and the ongoing stand-off over the Christopher Coke extradition request raise doubts as to the GOJ's resolve, especially when it comes to high-profile criminal dons with close ties to the JLP (Jamaica Labour Party)," the 2010 cable said.

According to the cable: "Most troubling was the growing perception in civil society and the private sector that after 18 years in opposition, the JLP weren't up to the job of governing the country and PM Golding was too hesitant, indecisive and consumed by policy details to effectively manage the GOJ."

US Chargé d'Affaires Isiah Parnell, in a January 2010 email response to The Gleaner, had claimed that the US Embassy was very disappointed that the Government of Jamaica had denied the Obama administration's request to extradite St James businessman Presley Bingham on what were very serious drug charges.

Reason for denial

Lightbourne had defended her decision, in January last year, to deny the extradition request for Bingham pointing out in a statement to the media that the request was turned down because it related to charges that the accused had been to court about before.

A previous extradition request for Bingham had taken longer than was legally allowable and he was freed by the Court of Appeal.

In the January 2010 diplomatic cable, the United States authorities had taken note that the Government of Jamaica continued to trumpet its intention to bring down the island's spiralling crime rate, with National Security Minister Dwight Nelson promising that 'draconian' anti-gang measures to assist the police were coming.

However, in the cable, embassy officials argued that the Golding administration's refusal to cooperate on two high-profile US extradition requests raised serious doubt as to the Government's commitment to tackling the island's skyrocketing crime rate.

After a nine-month delay in signing the extradition request for Coke, the Golding administration relented and inked the request when pressure began to mount from several quarters for the resignation of the prime minister who had admitted that he sanctioned the hiring of US law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips to lobby Washington on the extradition matter.

Golding had vowed in the Jamaican Parliament that he was willing to pay a political price for defending the constitutional rights of Coke, arguing that the evidence US authorities garnered on the man, who is now facing gun and drug-running charges in the US, was obtained illegally.

Lightbourne had argued that the wiretap evidence against Coke was illegally obtained.

In the recently concluded Manatt-Dudus commission of enquiry, the justice minister testified that the illegally obtained evidence formed part of her decision to have waited for nine months before signing the authority to proceed.