SECOND TRIPARTITE CONFERENCE DISCUSSES DRUG AND MIGRANT TRAFFICKING AND ASSISTANCE FOR HAITI

Show metadata

UNCLAS NASSAU 000398

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

INL/LP FOR KEVIN BROWN

WHA/CAR FOR JOSEPH TILGHMAN AND TIM RYAN

WHA/CAR PLEASE PASS TO USOAS

SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD

INR/IAA

E.O. 12958

TAGS: SNAR, PGOV, PREL, TK, UK, BF, DR, HA

SUBJ: SECOND TRIPARTITE CONFERENCE DISCUSSES DRUG AND MIGRANT

TRAFFICKING AND ASSISTANCE FOR HAITI

--------------

SUMMARY

--------------

1. (SBU) On May 9, the Ambassador hosted the Second Tripartite

Conference between representatives of the governments of The Bahamas

(GCOB),Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) along with representatives

from Embassies Nassau, Santo Domingo and Port-au-Prince. The

conference followed a December 11, 2007 meeting in Turks and Caicos

(Reftel) and continued discussions on how best to coordinate each

countries' law enforcement efforts to interdict drug and migrant

traffickers in the region, intelligence sharing and assisting the

government of Haiti. The conference heard presentations from law

enforcement officials from Embassies Port-au-Prince and Santo

Domingo on drug and migrant trafficking in Haiti and the Dominican

Republic, along with suggestions about how The Bahamas and Turks and

Caicos might best assist Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The

Bahamian Commissioner of Police raised the idea of expanding

Operations Bahamas Turks and Caicos (OPBAT) to include Haiti and the

Dominican Republic. It remains to be seen whether or not The

Bahamas will formally ask to enlarge OPBAT. The Governor of TCI

suggested expanding the scope of OPBAT to include migrant smuggling

in addition to drug trafficking. A working group was empowered to

follow-up on issues raised during the conference. The GCOB offered

to host the next Tripartite Conference in September. End Summary.

--------------

A REGIONAL APPROACH TO REGIONAL PROBLEMS

--------------

2. (U) The Second Tripartite Conference, hosted by the Ambassador in

Nassau on May 9, 2008 included a delegation from the government of

The Bahamas led by Minister of National Security Tommy Turnquest, a

delegation from the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) led by Governor

Richard Tauwhare and Minister of Home Affairs, Gelmo Williams.

(Note: TCI is a British territory headed by a Governor appointed by

the Queen. The British are responsible for internal and external

>security, international obligations and foreign policy. The local

government raises revenue and maintains responsibility for other

governing matters. End Note). Rear Admiral Steve Branham from USCG

District-Seven, as well as the DEA Country Attach and Coast Guard

Liaison Officer (CGLO) from Embassy Santo Domingo, the Narcotics

Affairs Director from Embassy Port-au-Prince along with the British

Ambassador to Haiti and the Dominican Republic participated in the

conference.

3. (SBU) After brief introductory remarks by delegation heads,

Governor Tauwhare discussed TCI's three-pronged approach to stopping

illegal migration from Haiti. This includes efforts to assist the

GOH with trade and investment opportunities, warning Haitians who

might consider trying to migrate of the dangers associated with

illegal migration and engaging in dialogue with Haitian officials

about how best to deter migration. He noted that a delegation from

TCI had been scheduled to visit Haiti to sign a Memorandum of

Understanding (MOU) related to these issues, but the recent unrest

and forced resignation of the Prime Minister and his government

caused postponement of the trip. Tauwhare indicated that TCI has

tightened its laws against illegal migration to insure that illegal

migrants can not find employment on the local economy. He mentioned

the recent ban on wooden-hulled commercial sailing sloops from TCI

ports, noting that the government hoped to expand this ban to cover

all of TCI's territorial waters. He reported that a contract had

been signed to install a land-based radar system that would be able

to track vessels at sea as far away as fifteen miles from the shore.

He hoped the radar would be fully operational by year's end. The

Governor stated that TCI was in the process of reorganizing its

police branch and would soon be hiring someone from the outside to

oversee the revamped police force.

4. (SBU) Governor Tauwhare stated that he hoped the Tripartite

Conference would allow for operational exchanges of information

between the parties and more joint exercises. He noted that more

needed to be done to identify the leaders of drug and migrant

trafficking organizations. He hoped TCI authorities could work more

closely with the Haitian National Police (HNP). He proposed

expanding the scope of Operations Bahamas Turks and Caicos (OPBAT)

to include migrant trafficking along with its current emphasis on

drug trafficking. He asked the U.S. Coast Guard to negotiate a

Comprehensive Maritime Agreement (CMA) similar to the one now

existing between the U.S. and The Bahamas.

5. (SBU) The Santo Domingo DEA Country Attach gave a grim view of

the drug problems facing the Dominican Republic. He noted that even

when air and maritime trafficking is identified, the GODR lacks the

air and sea assets required to interdict traffickers. He stated

that a regional strategy to combat drug trafficking had the greatest

potential for success. NAS Port-au-Prince noted that all of the

challenges faced by the DR were also true in Haiti, but often

multiplied due to the level of poverty and GOH capacity. She

reviewed the current situation in Haiti and remarked that combating

drug trafficking is a priority for President Preval. While noting

that Haiti had taken a step back in recent weeks, it was making

strides. She opined that CARICOM had a bigger role to play in Haiti

and encouraged the GCOB to use its influence in CARICOM on behalf of

Haiti. She suggested three strategies for Haiti: interdiction of

drugs and migrants so as to make clear that these avenues do not

pay; assistance to improve living conditions in Haiti focusing on

agriculture and tourism; and capacity building and increasing

resources for the HNP.

6. (SBU) Rear Admiral Branham noted that all of the participants

were committed to take action against drug and migrant traffickers.

He stated that the USCG strategy was to maintain a persistent

presence in the region. He remarked that upgrading the

infrastructure in Great Inagua would allow the Coast Guard to better

maintain its presence in the Windward Passage. (Note: Great Inagua

(G.I.) is the southeastern most island in The Bahamas chain. It

houses one of the three OPBAT bases and under Bahamian law, vessels

traveling from the south into The Bahamas are required to stop and

clear customs and immigration in G.I. End Note). He encouraged

strategic communications to spread the word about the risks of

migration and the downside of the drug culture. He pledged to

continue joint operations with Bahamian and TCI maritime law

enforcement and looked forward to making progress in the sharing of

intelligence. He noted that the USG would be donating five vessels

and returning a sixth refurbished GOH vessel (a joint NAS, DOD, USCG

project) to the Haitian Coast Guard in the coming weeks and hoped

these assets would be supplemented with additional assets in the

future. In response to the RBPF, he mentioned that law enforcement

needed to demonstrate that it was fully utilizing existing resources

before asking for additional ones.

7. (SBU) Minister Turnquest noted that the RBPF Training College

had provided mid-level training for eight HNP members over the past

few years. He pledged to continue training the HNP and offered

additional training slots to members of the Royal Turks and Caicos

Island Police Force. RBPF Commissioner Ferguson raised the

possibility of expanding OPBAT into the Dominican Republic and

Haiti. He warned against establishing parallel organizations,

noting that with the resources of Joint Interagency Task Force-South

(JIATF-S) and the OPBAT Operations Center in the Embassy in Nassau a

framework existed that could be expanded. He mentioned the

importance of CARICOM in working with Haiti. NAS Port-au-Prince

agreed with the Commissioner, noting that CARICOM can work with

Haiti in ways the U.S. can not. The Commissioner asked about the

mechanism for sharing intelligence, agreeing that we all need to

work closer together.

8. (SBU) The Ambassador agreed that expanding OPBAT would be a

great idea, noting that if we do not consolidate our assets and use

them more efficiently, we could lose them. After a brief discussion

about the mechanism for enlarging OPBAT, the parties agreed that the

governments of The Bahamas and TCI would discuss expansion

internally and, if a consensus developed, make a written request

asking to renegotiate the OPBAT agreement to the Embassy. Governor

Tauwhare echoed his earlier remarks calling for expanding OPBAT to

include migrant interdiction and pledged to provide a written

request to do so. He asked if OPBAT could somehow share information

with the UN forces currently in Haiti as well as with the HNP and

Haitian Coast Guard. The parties agreed to have a working group

follow-up on these issues.

9. (SBU) NAS Port-au-Prince noted that Haiti has an Intelligence

Sharing Center and Embassy Port-au-Prince would explore the

possibility of the Center sharing information with OPBAT. She

indicated that Embassy Port-au-Prince would encourage the GOH to

sign the pending MOU with TCI, if that was deemed useful. She

encouraged the GCOB to consider banning wooden-hulled sailing sloops

from Bahamian waters and the GTCI to extend the port ban on these

vessels to include all its territorial waters. She noted that these

vessels are a hazard to migrants who use them as well as a threat to

the region and any measures that would keep them from international

waters should be supported. Director of Bahamian Immigration

Burrows responded that the Bahamian government was reviewing draft

legislation that would effectively ban wooden-hulled sailing sloops

from Bahamian waters.

10. (SBU) CGLO Santo Domingo shared information on the biometric

identification methods employed by USCG vessels in the Mona Passage.

This information allows the Coast Guard to identify passengers and

crew on suspected migrant smuggling vessels stopped in the Mona

Passage and has succeeded in identifying a number of criminals

wanted in the U.S. as well as those suspected of arranging these

illegal voyages. Both the GCOB and GTCI expressed interest in

having biometric identification information available to their law

enforcement agencies to enhance enforcement efforts in this region.

Rear Admiral Branham indicated the success of the biometric

initiative in the Mona Passage has resulted in District Seven

expanding these efforts to the Florida Straits and Windward Passage.

District Seven cutters are gradually being outfitted with the

necessary equipment to carry this out.

--------------

CONCLUSIONS

--------------

11. (SBU) In concluding the meeting, the parties agreed to empower

the Working Group created at the December 11, 2007 meeting to

continued discussions concerning coordinating available assets and

sharing intelligence, standing-up an Operations Center in TCI,

planning for future joint operations, determining how to share

intelligence/information with the Haitian and Dominican Intelligence

Centers and the UN in Haiti, improving security at sea and airports

and following-up on the draft legislation that would ban

wooden-hulled commercial freighters in The Bahamas and from the

territorial waters of TCI. The parties agreed that the Working

Group be expanded to include representatives from Embassies Santo

Domingo and Port-au-Prince. Finally, Embassy Nassau indicated that

it would await formal requests from the GCOB and GTCI to expand

OPBAT before taking any further steps. The GCOB offered to host the

next Tripartite Meeting in September 2008.

--------------

COMMENTS

--------------

12. (SBU) The Second Tripartite Meeting continued the momentum

generated by the first meeting last December in Grand Turk. The

parties were pleased to hear the perspective of officials from the

U.S. and British Embassies in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Absent a commitment of significant additional USG resources to

OPBAT, it is unlikely that the GCOB will seriously push to expand

it. The RBPF Commissioner's proposed expansion of OPBAT appeared to

be off the cuff and not a result of internal discussions within the

GCOB. Governor Tauwhare's idea to expand OPBAT to include migrant

interdiction is more likely to result in a formal request for

consideration from the GTCI. Should the USG decide to move forward

with a "Mini Merida" for the Caribbean, expanding OPBAT to Haiti and

the Dominican Republic and upgrading the infrastructure in Great

Inagua would be excellent uses for additional funding. Post will

discuss septel the requirements and benefits of upgrading Great

Inagua. End Comment.

13. (U) Embassies Santo Domingo and Port-au-Prince cleared this

cable.

Elmo

SECOND TRIPARTITE CONFERENCE DISCUSSES DRUG AND MIGRANT TRAFFICKING AND ASSISTANCE FOR HAITI

Share this cable