TRINIDAD & TOBAGO GOVERNMENT REACTS TO JFK TERROR

C O N F I D E N T I A L PORT OF SPAIN 000545 SIPDIS SIPDIS CARACAS FOR LEGATT E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/05/2017 TAGS: PTER PGOV PREL CVIS TT SUBJECT: TRINIDAD & TOBAGO GOVERNMENT REACTS TO JFK TERROR PLOT REF: PORT OF SPAIN 00517 Classified By: DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION, EUGENE P. SWEENEY FOR REASONS 1.4(B) AND (D) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Prime Minister Patrick Manning requested a meeting with Ambassador Austin June 4 to pledge continued assistance in all law enforcement and legal matters to fight terror, including efforts to extradite two of the JFK bomb plotters currently being held in Trinidad. Manning had already put out a helpful public statement calling for complete cooperation with the US to fight terror. Minister of National Security Joseph requested greater working level cooperation in law enforcement and intelligence sharing. The Ambassador released a statement just before the meeting praising US, T&T, and Guyanese authorities for their successful cooperation on this matter. The PM also noted that certain southern Caribbean nations would sign an agreement in July allowing the joint patrolling of their waters. END SUMMARY ¶2. (C) At the outset of the June 4 afternoon meeting, PM Manning declared forthrightly that the GOTT supports the efforts of the USG to eradicate terrorism &from the face of the earth.8 He said that his government has cooperated and intends to continue cooperating closely with the US to this effect. Commenting that this attempt to bomb JFK airport has great potential for escalation, he called for close cooperation in ensuring that things do not get out of hand and the Caribbean region is not seen as a hotbed of terror. Manning,s office had issued a helpful statement on Saturday, June 2 condemning terrorism and calling for continued close cooperation with the US in the effort to counter terror. Ambassador Austin thanked the PM for the GOTT,s assistance in this and prior matters concerning law enforcement cooperation and agreed with the need to stay in close contact to manage potential problems. The Ambassasor remarked that he did not consider T&T as a hot bed of terror. Before the meeting began, he passed a copy of a press statement, just released by the embassy, praising the close cooperation between US and T&T authorities on this matter. The PM was accompanied by Minister of National Security Joseph, Attorney General Jeremie, Commissioner of Police Paul, Assistant Police Commissioner for Special Branch Philbert among others. The DCM accompanied the Ambassador. ¶3. (C) The PM asked about the extent of the involvement of the local Islamic group the Jamaat al-Muslimeen (JAM),which instigated the failed 1990 coup in Trinidad and Tobago. Ambassador Austin replied that our best information indicated that the JAM was not involved. He did not foresee any USG request for extradition of JAM members related to this plot. The PM responded that the GOTT will continue to monitor the situation with these types of groups. He also stated firmly that the GOTT would cooperate with any extradition arrangements required. ¶4. (C) Minister of National Security Martin Joseph, while emphasizing that T&T wants to continue cooperating closely with the US in the law enforcement field, asked for greater intelligence sharing with US officials on such cases. He explained that TT authorities were surprised by the request last Friday to arrest the individuals of interest, to which they quickly complied nonetheless. (Post Note: Over the last several months, police officials in Trinidad were briefed on the counter terrorism threat and informed that immediate action could take place at any time. INTEL services in T&T do not share information.) Ambassador Austin regretted that earlier notice regarding the arrests was not possible as USG agencies had only received information at the very last minute of the travel of one of the key individuals from Guyana, Abdul Kadir. He added that we would try to encourage more sharing of information at the working level. -------------- Regional Security ship patrols -------------- ¶5. (C) PM Manning took advantage of the meeting to inform us that a treaty will be signed in Barbados in July allowing for joint patrols of regional waters in the Southern Caribbean. He said that Barbados, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and T&T will begin a security arrangement that he hopes will expand soon to other Eastern Caribbean nations. He also mentioned that while T&T and Barbados already have radar to protect their coasts, this program would soon be expanding to cover Grenada, St. Vincent and St. Lucia. He hopes to extend these two arrangements to Antigua soon, which he said was particularly vulnerable to being used by narcotraffickers. ¶6. (C) Also in a regional security vein, Manning further related that the three Offshore Patrol Vessels that the GOTT is buying from the UK, and for which he has requested USG financial assistance to allow them to patrol up the Eastern Caribbean (reftel),should be operational for 300 days per year. T&T,s air guard, which has been plagued by operational problems, will also have to meet stringent new operational standards. Manning concluded that because of all these improvements, the southern Caribbean would be a much safer place by 2009. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶7. (C) An anxious Manning wanted to make it abundantly clear to us that T&T wants to continue to do whatever is necessary to fight terror, narcotrafficking and other crimes in the region and would appreciate continued US efforts to counter the image of T&T as a terrorist haven. T&T,s record in recent years on law enforcement cooperation, especially including extraditions, with us has been superlative by any standard. As mentioned in reftel, however, Manning feels that the US does not do enough for T&T and the region. Post strongly recommends that this exemplary cooperation be singled out in any public statements issued by the White House or the Department at the time of the upcoming Washington Caribbean Conference, and reinforced in private meetings with CARICOM leaders. ¶8. (C) As regards the JAM, the GOTT is particularly concerned about any JAM involvement in terror. The GOTT would like nothing better than to receive an extradition request from the USG for Abu Bakr and his top henchmen. Press reporting indicates that two of the men arrested in connection with the plot are former JAM members. Beyond that, however, there is no other JAM connection with this plot. AbuBakr and JAM was not interested in helping these four individuals with their terrorism plot against JFK airport. This organization is closely monitored by TT authorities largely because of its current criminal ties. Its leader, Yasin AbuBakr, is due to be tried on sedition charges beginning next week. Previous efforts to convict him have failed largely due to witness and jury intimidation, which the GOTT seems incapable of stopping, and it remains questionable whether this sedition case will succeed where others have failed. AUSTIN