COMMODORE ATTACKS CORRUPTION, PROMISES TO FIRE 25

C O N F I D E N T I A L NASSAU 001815 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CAR RCBUDDEN, COGARD FOR G-CI, PM/PPA, SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD, SOUTHCOM FOR CFORD E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/05/2016 TAGS: PREL MCAP KCOR BF SUBJECT: COMMODORE ATTACKS CORRUPTION, PROMISES TO FIRE 25 PERCENT OF DEFENSE FORCE REF: NASSAU 1659 Classified By: Charge d'affaires, a.i. Brent Hardt for reasons 1.4(b) a nd (d) ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: Newly appointed Royal Bahamas Defense Force (RBDF) Commodore Clifford Scavella asserted in a December 5 radio interview that 25 percent of the roughly 1000 RBDF officers are corrupt. He has pledged to move expeditiously to deal with corruption in the force and to improve its effectiveness following two serious scandals in the month Scavella has led the Force. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) Clifford Scavella, recently appointed Commodore of the RBDF, signaled the start of the Defense Force shakeup foretold by his appointment (reftel) in a widely reported interview on a local talk show aired December 5. Scavella revealed that approximately 250 persons in the RBDF -- 25 percent of the RBDF's total personnel -- were corrupt ("bad apples", as he termed them). Another 25 percent, he added, could "go either way." Scavella promised to cull these 250 bad apples from the force "as soon as possible" in a major personnel restructuring. He hoped his disciplinary efforts would bring the other 25 percent to see the light and stay on the right side. This announcement is in line with his stated goals of restoring the prestige of the RBDF in Bahamian society and improving military discipline in the force. Scavella previously announced his intention to build a brig at the RBDF Coral Harbor Base to hold personnel who fail to follow military standards of conduct. ¶3. (U) Scavella's crackdown comes as the RBDF responds to two major scandals in the short time since he assumed command of the force. On November 26, a group of RBDF officers allegedly beat a man in the southern Bahama island of Inagua after a dispute at a local bar, creating fears of reprisals by angry local residents against the RBDF Inagua base. Then on November 7, a local paper published allegations that RBDF officers embezzled $300,000 worth of marijuana from interdicted Haitian sloop Melia. Both matters are under investigation by the Bahamian government. ¶4. (U) The drug theft allegation is particularly sensitive because of its similarity to the well-publicized RBDF theft of $6 million of cocaine from the Colombian boat Lorequin in ¶1992. The Lorequin event resulted in a national Commission of Inquiry on corruption in 2003 and ultimately led to an independent review of the RBDF that was completed earlier this year (reftel). The Bahamian government has not publicly released results of the Defense Force Review, but it is this review that led to Scavella's appointment and charge to clean up the force. ¶5. (C) As various newspaper commentaries have pointed out, the RBDF is now reaping the harvest of years of underfunding, lax discipline, and poor leadership. The force also currently has limited marine assets to do its job patrolling the Bahamas' California-sized seas, which has contributed to low morale. U.S. support from Operation Enduring Friendship for new patrol vessels will add a needed infusion of new capability to go along with the Commodore's new leadership directions. The Deputy Prime Minister welcomed U.S. support in a meeting with SOUTHCOM Deputy Commander Glenn Spears December 1. ¶6. (C) COMMENT: Scavella is quickly establishing a reputation as a disciplinarian, a welcome change from his predecessor. Post previously reported that Scavella would face challenges in implementing needed reform, but his apparent willingness to make difficult staffing decisions -- if carried out -- would be a strong indication he is up to the task. Scavella is certainly sending a strong message to the RBDF that ignoring military discipline will no longer be tolerated. The public and the media is watching Scavella's moves closely, and have already concluded that his reaction to these early incidents will be his first big test as commander and will likely set the tone for his tenure at the helm of the RBDF. END COMMENT. HARDT