CLOCK TICKING (LOUDLY) ON CARIBBEAN IMMIGRATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRIDGETOWN 000910

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR S/ES
DEPARTMENT PASS TO USUN
DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CAR MICHAEL FORTIN
DEPARTMENT PASS TO DHS FOR CHARLES STALLWORTH, BYLLE
PATTERSON, MICHAEL LOONEY
CARACAS FOR DAO
KINGSTON FOR JOHN MORGAN, MARK POWELL
PORT OF SPAIN FOR JOE CHAMBERLAIN
GEORGETOWN FOR SANDRA INGRAM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/22/2016
TAGS: ASEC CPAS PINR PREL PTER UNSC XL
SUBJECT: CLOCK TICKING (LOUDLY) ON CARIBBEAN IMMIGRATION
PROJECT DECISION

REF: A. (A) KINGSTON 10007


B. (B) STATE 80801

C. (C) BRIDGETOWN 744

D. (D) BRIDGETOWN 675

E. (E) BRIDGETOWN 505

Classified By: Ambassador Kramer for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. This is an action request. Please see paragraph 10.


2. (C) SUMMARY: Following the second ad hoc CARICOM
Attorneys General meeting in Jamaica (Reftel A),Barbados
Deputy Prime Minister Mottley requested a meeting with
Ambassador Kramer to discuss the urgency of getting USG
commitment for the DHS entry-exit immigration swipe card
project. As an aside, Mottley commented on the current state
of affairs with the upcoming UN Security Council vote between
Venezuela and Guatemala and suggested the U.S. find an
alternate candidate. She requested further information on
Third Border Initiative assistance for the region. END
SUMMARY.


3. (U) Participants: Barbados Deputy Prime Minister Mia
Mottley, Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Kerrie Symmonds, (Note: There is no exact USG counterpart
for this cabinet-level position, although Deputy Secretary
would be the rough equivalent. End Note.),Barbados
Permanent Secretary for Special Assignments related to
Cricket World Cup Juanita Thorington-Powlett, and former
Barbados Senator Phillip Goddard, now serving as Science and
Technology Advisor to the Prime Minister.

U.S. Participants: Ambassador Mary Kramer, Deputy Chief of
Mission Mary Ellen Gilroy, and Narcotics Affairs Director
Patricia Aguilera (notetaker).

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HEAVEN OR HELL?
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4. (C) During a May 23 meeting, Barbados Deputy Prime
Minister Mottley met with Ambassador Kramer to discuss next
steps for the Government of Barbados (GOB) regarding
CARICOM's request for U.S. funding and implementation of the
regional immigration entry-exit system. Mottley commented
that she had expended considerable political capital on this
project and needed to know soonest if the USG planned on
assisting the region. Further USG delay, followed by a
decision not to assist the region, would leave CARICOM little
time to find an alternate solution. "We need to know if we
are going to heaven or to hell," Mottley said, "but we need
to know now." The heterogeneous population of neighboring
countries is of continuing concern. As an example, Mottley
cited the recent deportation to Trinidad of two Muslim men in
connection with their involvement in the bombing of Hindu
temples in Canada. The two men had been held in a Canadian
prison and had managed to convert 40 percent of the prison's
population to Islam.

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UNSC VOTE
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5. (C) Turning to the upcoming UN Security Council (UNSC)
vote, Mottley volunteered that she knew the U.S. was
concerned about the outcome. Offering that it was best for
the U.S. to avoid mentioning the topic at all in the
Caribbean, she suggested finding an alternate candidate
agreeable to both the U.S. and CARICOM. She added that
CARICOM is troubled over the general trends in Venezuela;
Trinidad, in particular, is "petrified" and is watching
Venezuela with great interest. Hugo Chavez's decisions to
purchase Russian aircraft, increase maritime assets, and give
small arms to the general population so it could respond as a

militia, have not been lost on the Caribbean countries.
Trinidad fears that some of the small arms Chavez has
distributed in Venezuela are making their way into its
general population. Nonetheless, CARICOM cannot overlook
Guatemala's lack of willingness to cooperate with the
Government of Belize on resolving their border dispute.
Absent an alternate candidate CARICOM is between a rock and a
hard place. Mottley, a regionally respected attorney (with
the rank of Queen,s Counsel),made a professional
observation about the dilemma facing Belize. If the
Government of Belize ignores the Guatemalan squatters,
reputed to be retired senior rank officers who are heavily
armed, on its territory, then under common law, the squatters
(and by extension, the government of Guatemala) become the
legal possessors of the land. If the Government of Belize
moves to evict the Guatemalan squatters, it risks starting a
shooting war.

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THIRD BORDER INITIATIVE ASSISTANCE
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6. (SBU) Mottley asked if the Embassy could clarify which
countries would benefit from the Third Border Initiative
(TBI) funding that was mentioned at the meeting in Jamaica
(Reftels A and B) and whether such funding was linked to
Article 98. DCM Gilroy replied that certain funding did have
restrictions. The Department had given the TBI funds to
OAS-CICTE so that it could provide training and equipment to
specific countries. Embassy Bridgetown did not have a list
of those countries that would receive DHS Customs and Border
Protection training and equipment through OAS-CICTE, but
would request this information and let her know.

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A TOYOTA NOT A ROLLS
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7. (C) Mottley concluded the meeting by expressing her
willingness, and that of Prime Minister Owen Arthur, to speak
or meet with anyone in the USG who might expedite a favorable
decision on funding a pilot Western Hemisphere Travel
Initiative for CARICOM before Cricket World Cup. When
Ambassador Kramer commented that the Department of Homeland
Security was still unsure about the total cost of the
project, Mottley replied, "A Toyota will get us to the same
place as a Rolls Royce, so why not go with the Toyota?"
Ambassador Kramer agreed and asked if she felt that the scope
of the project was adequately defined. Mottley replied that
the scope of the project had been defined and she would be
meeting with the telecommunications company, Cable and
Wireless, to discuss the cost of circuit upgrades. The only
outstanding issue, she said, was whether DHS would fund the
project or not.

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COMMENT
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8. (C) COMMENT: Before the meeting started, Senator Goddard
warned Ambassador Kramer that Mottley was perturbed over the
mention of TBI funds being linked to Article 98. Mottley did
not, however, make it an issue during the meeting and simply
asked that when the Embassy had more details, we inform her
office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the specifics.
Mottley's restraint, and the amicable tenor of the meeting
overall, was probably attributable to her personal fondness
for Ambassador Kramer.


9. (SBU) Although expectations have been managed to the
extent possible, CARICOM is anxious for the regional
entry-exit project to move forward. The two leading Barbados
newspapers, the Advocate and the Nation, gave prominent
coverage to Barbados Attorney General Dale Marshall's

introduction of the "ICC Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007
Bill," which would include providing visitors with a "swipe
card" to facilitate their travel during CWC. Neither paper,
however, mentioned possible USG assistance. END COMMENT


10. (C) ACTION REQUEST: Post requests that the Department
facilitate a phone call between Secretary Rice and Minister
Kerrie Symmonds. Secretary Rice should expect Symmonds to
request that she confirm her commitment to the venture and
agree to reach out to Secretary Chertoff on behalf of the
GOB. Although DHS funding is still an open question, the
call would enable Secretary Rice to restate personally her
promise, made during the March 2006 CARIFORM meeting in
Nassau, to assist the region in preparation for CWC. Please
advise.
KRAMER