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Jamaican PM accused of blocking 'drug lord' trial
The Jamaican prime minister faced calls for his resignation after he admitted trying to save an alleged drug lord from extradition to face trial in America.
By Tom Leonard in New York
Published: 10:00PM BST 16 May 2010
Mr Golding has now admitted to parliament that he authorised the hiring of a law firm to lobby senior US State Department officials on Mr Coke's behalf Photo: AFP/GETTY
Bruce Golding, the island's premier, met with advisers to consider his position amid a growing scandal that has raised questions about the links between Jamaican politicians and criminal gangs.
After denying for two months that he was involved, Mr Golding admitted he sanctioned the hiring of a Los Angeles law firm to intervene on behalf of a man regarded by the US as one of the world's most dangerous drug kingpins.
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The Jamaican government's efforts to protect Christopher "Dudus" Coke have also caused a diplomatic rift with America, which has been trying since August last year to extradite him to New York to face drug and gun trafficking charges.
Mr Coke, 41, is accused of running a vast operation trafficking crack cocaine and marijuana to New York and elsewhere, then using the proceeds to smuggle guns back into Jamaica.
He faces life imprisonment if convicted in the US but continues to walk free in his home country.
The government has refused to sign the extradition papers on the grounds that the wiretaps used by US investigators to record Mr Coke's mobile phone calls were illegal.
Mr Coke is widely believed to be the leader – or "don" – of the Shower Posse, a notorious criminal gangs blamed for more than 1,400 murders across the US in the 1980s and so named because of its willingness to shower enemies in a hail of bullets.
He and his gang control Tivoli Gardens, a dangerous neighbourhood in Kingston, the Jamaican capital, which is in the parliamentary constituency of Mr Golding.
Mr Coke, who claims to earn a living as a food importer and building contractor, is credited with wielding enormous power in the area – insisting children stay off the streets after 8pm and keeping the streets free of petty theft.
Both of Jamaica's main political parties have for decades been accused of courting the support of criminal gangs because of their usefulness in getting people to vote during elections.
Mr Golding has now admitted to parliament that he had authorised the hiring of the law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips to lobby senior US State Department officials on Mr Coke's behalf.
But he claimed the firm had mistakenly believed he was hiring it in his capacity as PM when he had instead been doing it as Labour Party leader.
His foot-dragging over the Coke case has antagonised Washington, prompting claims that it has shown its displeasure by failing to appoint a new ambassador to Jamaica. The US government has also been accused of refusing to give visas to prominent Jamaicans because of the impasse.
Despite the public US silence, in March a State Department counternarcotics report said that Jamaica's delay in extraditing a "major suspected drugs and firearms trafficker with reported ties to the ruling party highlights the potential depth of corruption in the government".
The Jamaican government is now awaiting a judgement from its Supreme Court on whether its Attorney General is able to block the extradition on the grounds she has given.
However, analysts believe the government will not want to let Mr Coke fall into American hands for fear of what he will reveal about his links with politicians.
Tom Tavares-Finson, Mr Coke's lawyer and a Labour Party senator, dismissed the charges, insisting his client's business dealings "are subject to the scrutiny of the Jamaican government – this is not some banana republic beyond the woebegone".
The Shower Posse was named for its supposed willingness to shower enemies in a hail of bullets.
It first drew attention in the 1980s when the FBI blamed it for an unprecedented wave of violence across the East Coast in which 1,400 people died. The gang was said to have established bases in 20 cities across the US, Britain and Canada.
Scotland Yard has long suspected that Mr Coke, an elusive figure in Jamaica who has never been convicted of any crime, has been heavily involved in Britain’s cocaine trade.
The so-called Yardie gangs operating in Brixton have such strong links with Mr Coke’s domain that part of the south London neighbourhood is nicknamed “Little Tivoli” in honour of Tivoli Gardens.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...ord-trial.html
The Jamaican prime minister faced calls for his resignation after he admitted trying to save an alleged drug lord from extradition to face trial in America.
By Tom Leonard in New York
Published: 10:00PM BST 16 May 2010
Mr Golding has now admitted to parliament that he authorised the hiring of a law firm to lobby senior US State Department officials on Mr Coke's behalf Photo: AFP/GETTY
Bruce Golding, the island's premier, met with advisers to consider his position amid a growing scandal that has raised questions about the links between Jamaican politicians and criminal gangs.
After denying for two months that he was involved, Mr Golding admitted he sanctioned the hiring of a Los Angeles law firm to intervene on behalf of a man regarded by the US as one of the world's most dangerous drug kingpins.
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The Jamaican government's efforts to protect Christopher "Dudus" Coke have also caused a diplomatic rift with America, which has been trying since August last year to extradite him to New York to face drug and gun trafficking charges.
Mr Coke, 41, is accused of running a vast operation trafficking crack cocaine and marijuana to New York and elsewhere, then using the proceeds to smuggle guns back into Jamaica.
He faces life imprisonment if convicted in the US but continues to walk free in his home country.
The government has refused to sign the extradition papers on the grounds that the wiretaps used by US investigators to record Mr Coke's mobile phone calls were illegal.
Mr Coke is widely believed to be the leader – or "don" – of the Shower Posse, a notorious criminal gangs blamed for more than 1,400 murders across the US in the 1980s and so named because of its willingness to shower enemies in a hail of bullets.
He and his gang control Tivoli Gardens, a dangerous neighbourhood in Kingston, the Jamaican capital, which is in the parliamentary constituency of Mr Golding.
Mr Coke, who claims to earn a living as a food importer and building contractor, is credited with wielding enormous power in the area – insisting children stay off the streets after 8pm and keeping the streets free of petty theft.
Both of Jamaica's main political parties have for decades been accused of courting the support of criminal gangs because of their usefulness in getting people to vote during elections.
Mr Golding has now admitted to parliament that he had authorised the hiring of the law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips to lobby senior US State Department officials on Mr Coke's behalf.
But he claimed the firm had mistakenly believed he was hiring it in his capacity as PM when he had instead been doing it as Labour Party leader.
His foot-dragging over the Coke case has antagonised Washington, prompting claims that it has shown its displeasure by failing to appoint a new ambassador to Jamaica. The US government has also been accused of refusing to give visas to prominent Jamaicans because of the impasse.
Despite the public US silence, in March a State Department counternarcotics report said that Jamaica's delay in extraditing a "major suspected drugs and firearms trafficker with reported ties to the ruling party highlights the potential depth of corruption in the government".
The Jamaican government is now awaiting a judgement from its Supreme Court on whether its Attorney General is able to block the extradition on the grounds she has given.
However, analysts believe the government will not want to let Mr Coke fall into American hands for fear of what he will reveal about his links with politicians.
Tom Tavares-Finson, Mr Coke's lawyer and a Labour Party senator, dismissed the charges, insisting his client's business dealings "are subject to the scrutiny of the Jamaican government – this is not some banana republic beyond the woebegone".
The Shower Posse was named for its supposed willingness to shower enemies in a hail of bullets.
It first drew attention in the 1980s when the FBI blamed it for an unprecedented wave of violence across the East Coast in which 1,400 people died. The gang was said to have established bases in 20 cities across the US, Britain and Canada.
Scotland Yard has long suspected that Mr Coke, an elusive figure in Jamaica who has never been convicted of any crime, has been heavily involved in Britain’s cocaine trade.
The so-called Yardie gangs operating in Brixton have such strong links with Mr Coke’s domain that part of the south London neighbourhood is nicknamed “Little Tivoli” in honour of Tivoli Gardens.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...ord-trial.html
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