Righting a wrong
Tapia pushing to get fishermen home
THE four Jamaican fishermen detained by United States immigration officials despite being cleared by a Florida court of drugs charges should be home by today or tomorrow.
US Ambassador to Jamaica Donald Tapia yesterday told the Jamaica Observer that efforts are being made to get the men on a flight and have them home as soon as possible.
“Yesterday (Tuesday) I was told that they should be home within 48-hours. This morning (Wednesday), when I had the person in my office — I had questions so he was in my office at 8:15 – he had assurance that within 48 hours they should be here. So it could be tomorrow (today),” said Tapia.
“The only thing that could slow it up is getting the travel documents from the Jamaican Embassy in Washington. The reason they were placed in detention was that they... did not have permission to enter [the US],” added Tapia, who is set to end his tour of duty on January 12, 2021.
He said contact has already been made with Jamaica’s Ambassador to the US Audrey Marks to speed up the travel documents for the men.
“Once we get the travel documents, the next available commercial flight they will be put on,” said Tapia.
The saga of the four fishermen was put on the front burner on Monday by attorney-at-law Bert Samuels, who represents them.
Samuels told the media that the men were arrested by the US Coast Guard in October after it was alleged that they were found with 150 gallons of liquid cocaine on a boat registered in Jamaica, the Lady Lawla, which was destroyed by the coast guard.
But the matter was thrown out by Judge Chris Mcaliley of the Southern District of Florida [US] District Court on the basis that there was no evidence of a find of liquid cocaine and that, instead, it was merely gasoline which had been misidentified as such.
The men were then transferred to US immigration, where they have been held since then, despite being found not guilty.
Yesterday, Tapia accepted that the entire incident was embarrassing.
“Not only is it an embarrassment to the Jamaican Government, it’s also an embarrassment to me personally and to the United States Government,” said Tapia, who added that he is still seeking answers as to what went wrong.
He argued that no blame
should be laid at the feet of the Jamaican Government, who Samuels had insisted should provide answers as to why, based on a false premise, the Jamaicans were detained while located 100 miles south of Port Royal, and unlawfully taken to the US and the vessel destroyed.
But Tapia told Observer reporters and editors that, “The foreign minister and the attorney general have to rely on the information that the US Government gives to them. I have to rely on the information I am given by the coast guard and the US Government.”
He said, once the matter broke on Tuesday morning he was flooded with calls from Jamaican officials seeking answers to questions; including, what happened, how did it happen, and why did it happen?
Tapia outlined the sequence of events as he explained that the system exists that allows the US Coast Guard to seek permission from the Jamaican Government to board any suspicious vessel registered in Jamaica it intercepts at sea.
He said once permission was granted members of the coast guard boarded the Lady Lawla and tested liquid found in containers on the boat and the test proved positive for cocaine in all the vessels.
This led to the men being taken into custody and transported to Miami along with a sample of the liquid from one of the containers that were found on the boat.
“So the so-called evidence was taken back to a professional lab in Miami to review. They received, I believe on the 27th [of December], the results that came back from the lab.”
Tapia said the minute the result was returned it was sent to the prosecutor and the defence attorney in the US and the men taken before the judge where it was noted that there was not enough evidence to prosecute the four Jamaicans and the case was dismissed.
The outgoing ambassador also emphasised that there are provisions for the owner of the boat to seek compensation for the vessel which was destroyed as part of a worldwide practice whenever contraband is found on a vessel at sea.