There’s a thunderstorm sweeping through Jamaica, threatening to capsize the island’s already-troubled economy and put its government in a diplomatic dilemma with the United States. Last August, the US Department of Justice issued an extradition warrant for the arrest of Christopher “Dudus” Coke, allegedly a gift from the infamous Tivoli Gardens garrison in West Kingston. Coca-Cola, considered among the “world’s most dangerous drug lords” by the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), has been charged with conspiracy to traffic firearms and distribute marijuana and cocaine.
To date, Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding has ignored mounting US and local pressure to sign the extradition warrant, citing Jamaican law’s failure to obtain intercepted evidence and due process protections for its citizens. But this is not an ordinary citizen.
The tentacles of Coca-Cola’s power and influence stretch across Jamaica and into the upper levels of the current government. The community that Coca-Cola controls is a notorious stronghold of the ruling Jamaica Labor Party (JLP) and is Prime Minister Golding’s constituency; his defense attorney, Senator Tom Tavares-Finson, is a member of parliament.
More than a diplomatic standoff, the David and Goliath showdown threatens to expose the corruption that has been intrinsic to Jamaican politics for decades. Furthermore, it underscores the reality that politics and criminal gangs continue to be closely linked in both political parties. The ongoing diplomatic stalemate has wide-ranging repercussions for the popular tourist destination, which relies heavily on US support and magnanimity in the form of exports, tourism and remittances.
Then a bombshell: A Washington Post article reported that last November, the prominent American law firm Manatt, Phelps and Phillips received nearly $50,000, a fee for a $400,000 contract, to lobby on behalf of the Jamaican government against Coke’s extradition.
The deal was signed by Manatt’s partner, Susan Schmidt, and Kingston’s attorney, Harold Brady, who claimed to be “authorized on behalf of the Government of Jamaica” to make the deal and was attended by Daryl Vaz, Jamaica’s Minister of Information. The agreement violates the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), because the company did not declare the purpose and scope of its lobbying efforts and because Coca-Cola financed the contract.
Although records submitted by Manatt under FARA regulations indicate that only “treaty issues” were discussed, White House officials confirm that the talks focused primarily on Jamaican opposition to Coke’s extradition. In the ensuing furor, Prime Minister Golding denied that anyone was authorized to act on behalf of the government, and the law firm has since “ceased doing business on behalf of the Government of Jamaica”. But questions remain, chief among them: Who has the power to negotiate and finance such a deal, and why?
It is everything that anyone, taxi drivers, businessmen, nurses, vendors, talks about on the island. Yet, as a testament to its power and reach, hardly anyone will speak on the record – not university professors, journalists, friends or the man in the street – and inquiries are met with dead-eyed stars and disconnected phone lines. A palpable tension hangs over downtown Kingston and across the island, an uneasy restlessness.
Impenetrable to outsiders, the entrances to the downtown garrisons are blocked with cement boulders, tires, and old iron. They are patrolled by steely-eyed boy-men with automatic weapons hanging at their sides, fingers not far from the trigger. Ghetto passes aren’t enough here, and curiosity is met with a raucous “Who are you?” Coca-Cola supporters, who are legion, insist that it will not go down without a fight, and rumors about its preparation are rampant.
Garrison communities (Tivoli, Trench Town, Jungle, Fletcher’s Land and others) are autonomous, politically protected enclaves, striated by party affiliation, dependent on and controlled by “dons” and their gangs, who are the link between the community and the politicians. parts. Dons receive patronage and political protection from party leaders, insulating them from law enforcement. In return, they finance political campaigns, hand out votes, wage wars to protect territories, and generally keep the peace.
Despite their reputation for crime and corruption, many dons profit heavily from government contracts for construction, transportation, and infrastructure, and in turn use these legitimate businesses to launder money. They fill a void that successive governments seem unable and unwilling to address.
Indeed, Coca-Cola has been instrumental in reviving, restructuring and streamlining commerce and ensuring the safety and security of vendors and shoppers in downtown Kingston. Now, business transactions and social interactions (such as the popular dancehall event, Passa Passa) are mutually beneficial, with money flowing to poverty-stricken communities unlikely to benefit from tourist dollars or subsidies. governmental.
It also managed to stop much of the violence and terror that these areas are historically famous for. But this peace comes at a high price: no business operates without paying the minions of a don, from established businesses and storefronts to produce vendors in markets. Refusal means arson, intimidation, and the threat of violence without legal recourse.
Politicians have ceded their power to gang members and seem unable or unwilling to mitigate the chaos they have helped create since they began arming gangs in inner-city Kingston and beyond. As the standoff deepens, Jamaicans fear a return and flare-up of violence and what will flourish in the void created by his extradition.
Jamaicans are a famous and proud people who resist the idea of bowing to anything and anyone, but many are bitterly angry and exasperated by the putrid stench of decades-old corruption, which they feel tarnishes the island’s image throughout. the world. No matter the resolution, in the bitter aftermath, regular Jamaicans struggling to make ends meet will pay an unbearable price.
America sharpens its tools
The turmoil began with Jamaica’s prominence in the 2010 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, laying bare the country’s many transgressions. The report highlights the “unusual treatment of [Coke’s] extradition request” and notes the “dramatic change in Jamaica’s previous extradition cooperation,” including a temporary suspension in the processing of all other pending requests, which it says raises serious questions about the country’s commitment to combat transnational crime.
Damningly, the report highlights the “guns for ganja” trade and labels the island “the Caribbean’s largest source of marijuana” for the United States and “a transit point for cocaine trafficking from South America.” , and cites its “high murder rate per capita”. –1,672 in 2009, one of the highest in the world.” Expresses concern at “increasing organized crime activity, which permeates the legitimate business sector as well as the political sector, and its impact on Jamaica’s political and economic stability “.
Despite claims by US Chargé d’affaires in Jamaica, Isaiah Parnell, that ties remain strong between the countries, Washington is increasingly tired of waiting and skeptical of the government’s political will. Despite Prime Minister Golding’s assertions that efforts are being made to strengthen bilateral cooperation to stem the tide of illegal weapons and drugs, anti-corruption and anti-crime legislation still languishes in Parliament.
To date, the United States has yet to appoint an ambassador to Jamaica, and several prominent artists and businessmen’s visas have recently been revoked without notice. Many citizens are concerned that US visas are not being issued or renewed.
What options awaited Coke, who resides in a multi-story mansion in the verdant suburbs of Kingston, miles away from the congested slums he supposedly dominates? His father, feared JLP strongman Lloyd Lester “Jim Brown” Coke, JLP enforcer and leader of the Shower Posse, who for more than a decade funneled drugs and weapons through the US and Jamaica, also found himself in the same situation. Coke Sr. died in a mysterious fire in his cell at the General Penitentiary on the eve of his own extradition in February 1991.
Currently, the political delay continues before the Supreme Court of Jamaica. Jamaican Attorney General Dorothy Lightbourne filed a motion seeking a statement on the handling of Coke’s extradition request. The hearing is set for May 5.
As the high-stakes game of chicken continues, one country waits: anxious, vigilant, hopeful.