JAMAICA COAST GUARD INAUGURATES NEW

UNCLAS KINGSTON 000465

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR INL/LP

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SNAR KCRM JM
SUBJECT: JAMAICA COAST GUARD INAUGURATES NEW
FACILITY



1. In a brief ceremony on 16 February, attended by
the top officials in the Jamaican security
establishment, the Jamaica Defense Force Coast
Guard (JDFCG) dedicated a new station at Black
River on the southwest coast of Jamaica. This
facility will be manned by both the JDFCG and a
contingent of the JCF Marine Police, with
responsibility for maritime law enforcement and
search and rescue in a region suspected of being a
major artery for drug trafficking from South
America to the U.S. The attendees included the
Minister of National Security, Chief of Staff,
Jamaica Defense Force (JDF),Commissioner, Jamaica
Constabulary Force (JCF),Charge' D'Affaires, U.S.
Embassy Kingston as well as other U.S. Embassy,
JDF and JCF staff and Jamaican press officials.


2. According to the Minister of National Security,
the principal speaker at the event, this facility
is the first of its kind on the south coast and
will compliment the Government of Jamaica's
efforts at Pedro Cay, some 60 nautical miles to
the south of Jamaica. A planned station was
destroyed during Hurricane Ivan in September 2004
thus delaying the process. The facility, located
on privately owned property on the southernmost
point in Black River, was made available by a
prominent Jamaican businessman from the area. The
actual structure, a 40 foot container-shaped,
prefabricated building, was made possible by a
joint USG effort with funding from the Narcotics
Affairs Section. JDF Engineer Corps built the
foundation and completed the assembly of the
building.

Comment: JDFCG have shown determination, and
ingenuity in the pursuit of their maritime
interdiction mandate. They have completed repairs
to vessels on a shoestring and put them back into
service in record time. The quick action to put
this new station into operation speaks volumes for
the JDFCG's commitment to its law enforcement
mission. The presence of the JDF Chief of Staff
and the JCF Commissioner signals perhaps a renewed
effort to cooperate in the mutual interest of
Jamaica. Post is optimistic about the results
this joint law enforcement effort can achieve.
End comment.

TIGHE