IMPLEMENTATION AGENCY DETAILS CARICOM CWC

C O N F I D E N T I A L PORT OF SPAIN 000849 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR WHA/CAR (FORTIN),INL/LP, CA/CO/F/P, FSI/SPAS/CON HOMELAND SECURITY FOR OFFICE OF STRATEGIC PLANS (KIDWELL) E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/17/2016 TAGS: PREL SNAR CVIS KCRM CARICOM XL TD SUBJECT: IMPLEMENTATION AGENCY DETAILS CARICOM CWC PREPARATIONS Classified By: Classified by: A/DCM, A. D. Miller for reasons 1.4 (b/d ) ¶1. (C) According to Lancelot Sellman, Director of CARICOM's Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS),the decisions made at the July 3 Heads of Government meeting will allow Cricket World Cup (CWC) security preparations to move forward at full speed. He clarified the establishment of a regional Intelligence Fusion Center to be based in T&T, as well as plans for pre-positioning personnel in regional Command Centers. He was intrigued by the potential of collaboration with the State Department on preparing a visa interviewing/issuance manual to go out to all CARICOM CWC-visa issuing posts. Post would like to pursue this area of cooperation, as detailed in the action request in paragraph six. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) Political Officer met on July 12 with Lancelot Sellman, Director of CARICOM's Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) to obtain a Cricket World Cup-focused readout on the recent CARICOM Security Ministers' meeting, which took place prior to the Heads of Government (HOGS) meeting in St. Kitts. Sellman bemoaned that CARICOM started very late on preparing for CWC, and that much remains to be done in a short time. Sellman indicated that the political decisions made at the HOGS meeting will allow IMPACS to move forward more quickly. Among the pertinent documents signed are the agreement that officially constitutes IMPACS as a CARICOM body, the Memorandum of Understanding on Intelligence Sharing and the Memorandum of Intent between CARICOM and the U.S. on developing the Advance Passenger Information System for Cricket World Cup 2007 (CWC). ¶3. (C) Using the CARICOM Communique as a springboard, Sellman provided more detail on the security and intelligence sharing arrangements that will be put in place for CWC 2007. He confirmed that Trinidad and Tobago will house a CARICOM "Intelligence Fusion Center." This center will build on the CARICOM Information Sharing Network (CISNET) (due to come completely online by September) to streamline the sharing and, potentially, analysis of intelligence within CARICOM. The Center will likely remain in existence post-CWC. To provide adequate personnel for the tournament, a CWC Command Center will be set up in Barbados, under the command of a Jamaican nominee, along with two sub-regional centers, one in Antigua and one in Trinidad. The sub-regional centers will each have approximately 200 law enforcement and other officers pre-positioned to augment staffing needs for match day in the different locations. Additionally, the sub-regional centers will have specialist rapid response teams, augmented by international personnel and materiel, designed to respond to crises or emergency situations that may arise. Sellman noted that CARICOM will make specific requests at the upcoming July 26-27 meeting of the International Advisory Group in Barbados. ¶4. (C) For CWC, CARICOM will issue a common visa. Sellman stated that IMPACS is working on producing training materials to ensure that all visa-issuing posts use the same criteria for visa decisions and identical procedures for processing the applications and producing the visas. Sellman expressed interest in the State Department's extensive consular training program, including interviewing procedures. Sellman would like to use the visa process to screen for undesirables or fraudulent applicants, as those countries that will require visas were selected specifically for the security risk they pose. ¶5. (C) Sellman expressed some disappointment that the Department of Homeland Security's assistance proposal was scaled back significantly from the system discussed previously. He acknowledged that the system was probably too extensive to implement in time for CWC, but did inquire if CARICOM's "broader diplomacy" (meaning the apparent lean towards Venezuela for the UN Security Council seat) had any bearing on the ultimate offer. Poloff assured Sellman that the "smartcard" proposal simply proved to be too large an undertaking for the time remaining, but that the U.S. was committed to providing assistance. Sellman mused about whether the comprehensive program embodied in the smartcard proposal would eventually be put back on the table to help put the Caribbean back at the forefront of implementing the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. He indicated that CARICOM would still be interested in such collaboration in the near future. ¶6. (C) COMMENT AND ACTION REQUEST: Post would like to actively pursue CARICOM visa issuance training with FSI and Consular Affairs. Sellman understands the broader security concerns with issuing visas to come to the region, and would like to standardize the process as well as improve the professionalism of all CARICOM visa issuing officers. This is an area where U.S. and CARICOM interests are clearly in synch. The simple step of offering some pointers, or perhaps collaborating on a training video for CARICOM, would allow the U.S. to simultaneously improve the security of its third border and gain political points in the broader Caribbean. Post requests Department guidance on how to proceed with providing visa applicant screening assistance. Embassy Port of Spain's Cricket World Cup security assistance point of contact is Political Officer Joseph Chamberlain, on e-mail at chamberlainjl@state.gov. END COMMENT. SWEENEY