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Jamaica and organised crime
Seeking Mr Coke
American anger at Jamaica’s slowness in handing over an alleged gang boss
Mar 11th 2010 | PORT OF SPAIN | From The Economist print edition
UNTIL recently the United States was pleased with the co-operation it was getting from Jamaica over the extradition of people accused of serious crimes. The Jamaican authorities were responding promptly to requests and, last year, sent 15 suspects to the United States. But the case of Christopher “Dudus” Coke seems to be different. The American authorities have become frustrated at what they see as foot-dragging by Jamaica’s government over their request last August for the extradition of a man they say is the leader of an “international criminal organisation”.
A “Gang Threat Assessment Survey” conducted by the Jamaican government last year reckoned there were 268 criminal groups in Jamaica, earning cash from extortion, selling cannabis, transporting cocaine, contract killings, prostitution and international cybercrime. Many of them are merely small-time thugs. But the United States Justice Department has put Mr Coke on its “world’s most dangerous” list, accusing him of directing drug deals as far away as New York.
Mr Coke’s home patch is Tivoli Gardens, a tough inner-city garrison close to the waterfront. It is the core of the Kingston Western parliamentary seat, held since 2005 by the prime minister, Bruce Golding, and for 43 years before that by Eddie Seaga, his predecessor as leader of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).
Two of Mr Coke’s brothers and a sister have been shot dead over the years, either by gangland killers or in shoot-outs with police. His father, Lester Coke, was a leader of the infamous Shower Posse—the gang which, according to the American indictment, his son now runs. It was widely blamed in the 1980s for more than 1,000 murders in Jamaica and America.
Mr Coke senior died in a mysterious fire in his prison cell in 1992, while awaiting extradition to America on drugs and murder charges. It was the day of the funeral for another son, Mark, who had been shot dead three weeks earlier. Mr Seaga, then opposition leader, marched alongside party colleagues in the funeral cortège.
The State Department’s annual narcotics report, published on March 1st, talks of a “dramatic change” from earlier co-operation on extradition. It says Mr Coke has “reported ties” to the ruling party and that the delay in extraditing him “highlights the potential depth of corruption in the government.” Although the report acknowledges that a police anti-graft squad has made progress in catching crooked policemen and officials, it says some gang bosses enjoy police and political protection.
Responding to the American criticism, Mr Golding says the extradition request is based on evidence from illegal phone-tapping—an offence, he adds, that carries a five-year prison sentence under Jamaican law. For the processes leading to extradition to start, the respected attorney-general, Dorothy Lightbourne, would have to give her signature. Mr Golding argues that for her to do so in violation of a defendant’s constitutional rights would be a resigning matter.
Mr Coke’s rights will be ably defended by his lawyer, Tom Tavares-Finson, a government-appointed senator who is also one of the JLP’s two members on the island’s Electoral Commission. Speaking to the Jamaica Observer in December, Mr Tavares-Finson said of his client: “Nobody has heard of him being involved in any criminal activity.” He describes Mr Coke as “just an ordinary Jamaican going about his everyday business…trying to improve the lot of his children, his family and his community, with a recognition that he has an influence…and that influence is what is propelling the transformation of western Kingston.”
The community influence his lawyer credits Mr Coke with means that the police might find it difficult and dangerous to find and arrest him. Given his father’s fate, it would be understandable if he were reluctant to submit himself to extradition. If the American allegations of political links are well-founded, some Jamaican public figures may fear that Mr Coke’s arrest would lead to the disclosure of embarrassing information. It is rumoured that he has deposited incriminating documents with lawyers, to be released in the event of his untimely death.
With 1,672 murders last year—the highest number on record—Jamaica is one of the world’s most violent countries. Although it is pressing hard for Mr Coke’s extradition, the United States must also be aware of the risk that his arrest could further destabilise a country that is already racked by drugs-related violence. When his father and brother died in 1992, rioting and gun battles left at least eight dead.
Jamaica, struggling through a recession, has turned to the IMF for help. Any upsurge in violence might cause great damage to the island’s main source of domestic income, tourism. It might also undermine efforts to rebuild nearby Haiti—just 120 miles (193km) away by boat—given the links between Jamaica’s gangs and crime in its earthquake-hit neighbour.
America’s State Department says it wants to see Jamaica’s “transformation into a more secure, democratic, prosperous and stable partner.” However Mr Coke’s case turns out, this will not be easy.
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Jamaica and organised crime
Seeking Mr Coke
American anger at Jamaica’s slowness in handing over an alleged gang boss
Mar 11th 2010 | PORT OF SPAIN | From The Economist print edition
UNTIL recently the United States was pleased with the co-operation it was getting from Jamaica over the extradition of people accused of serious crimes. The Jamaican authorities were responding promptly to requests and, last year, sent 15 suspects to the United States. But the case of Christopher “Dudus” Coke seems to be different. The American authorities have become frustrated at what they see as foot-dragging by Jamaica’s government over their request last August for the extradition of a man they say is the leader of an “international criminal organisation”.
A “Gang Threat Assessment Survey” conducted by the Jamaican government last year reckoned there were 268 criminal groups in Jamaica, earning cash from extortion, selling cannabis, transporting cocaine, contract killings, prostitution and international cybercrime. Many of them are merely small-time thugs. But the United States Justice Department has put Mr Coke on its “world’s most dangerous” list, accusing him of directing drug deals as far away as New York.
Mr Coke’s home patch is Tivoli Gardens, a tough inner-city garrison close to the waterfront. It is the core of the Kingston Western parliamentary seat, held since 2005 by the prime minister, Bruce Golding, and for 43 years before that by Eddie Seaga, his predecessor as leader of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).
Two of Mr Coke’s brothers and a sister have been shot dead over the years, either by gangland killers or in shoot-outs with police. His father, Lester Coke, was a leader of the infamous Shower Posse—the gang which, according to the American indictment, his son now runs. It was widely blamed in the 1980s for more than 1,000 murders in Jamaica and America.
Mr Coke senior died in a mysterious fire in his prison cell in 1992, while awaiting extradition to America on drugs and murder charges. It was the day of the funeral for another son, Mark, who had been shot dead three weeks earlier. Mr Seaga, then opposition leader, marched alongside party colleagues in the funeral cortège.
The State Department’s annual narcotics report, published on March 1st, talks of a “dramatic change” from earlier co-operation on extradition. It says Mr Coke has “reported ties” to the ruling party and that the delay in extraditing him “highlights the potential depth of corruption in the government.” Although the report acknowledges that a police anti-graft squad has made progress in catching crooked policemen and officials, it says some gang bosses enjoy police and political protection.
Responding to the American criticism, Mr Golding says the extradition request is based on evidence from illegal phone-tapping—an offence, he adds, that carries a five-year prison sentence under Jamaican law. For the processes leading to extradition to start, the respected attorney-general, Dorothy Lightbourne, would have to give her signature. Mr Golding argues that for her to do so in violation of a defendant’s constitutional rights would be a resigning matter.
Mr Coke’s rights will be ably defended by his lawyer, Tom Tavares-Finson, a government-appointed senator who is also one of the JLP’s two members on the island’s Electoral Commission. Speaking to the Jamaica Observer in December, Mr Tavares-Finson said of his client: “Nobody has heard of him being involved in any criminal activity.” He describes Mr Coke as “just an ordinary Jamaican going about his everyday business…trying to improve the lot of his children, his family and his community, with a recognition that he has an influence…and that influence is what is propelling the transformation of western Kingston.”
The community influence his lawyer credits Mr Coke with means that the police might find it difficult and dangerous to find and arrest him. Given his father’s fate, it would be understandable if he were reluctant to submit himself to extradition. If the American allegations of political links are well-founded, some Jamaican public figures may fear that Mr Coke’s arrest would lead to the disclosure of embarrassing information. It is rumoured that he has deposited incriminating documents with lawyers, to be released in the event of his untimely death.
With 1,672 murders last year—the highest number on record—Jamaica is one of the world’s most violent countries. Although it is pressing hard for Mr Coke’s extradition, the United States must also be aware of the risk that his arrest could further destabilise a country that is already racked by drugs-related violence. When his father and brother died in 1992, rioting and gun battles left at least eight dead.
Jamaica, struggling through a recession, has turned to the IMF for help. Any upsurge in violence might cause great damage to the island’s main source of domestic income, tourism. It might also undermine efforts to rebuild nearby Haiti—just 120 miles (193km) away by boat—given the links between Jamaica’s gangs and crime in its earthquake-hit neighbour.
America’s State Department says it wants to see Jamaica’s “transformation into a more secure, democratic, prosperous and stable partner.” However Mr Coke’s case turns out, this will not be easy.
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