WASHINGTON,DC – The Government of Jamaica has been highly commended by the US State Department for what it described as the swift and safe transfer to the US of Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke.
At a recent press briefing at the White House, US Assistant Secretary of State, Philip Crowley, commended the Government of Prime Minister Bruce Golding and the Jamaican authorities for their work to support Coke’s transfer to the United States.
He told the press briefing that once the legal proceedings were complete, Coke was transported to the airport in Kingston last week Thursday by the Jamaica Defense Force and then escorted on a flight from Kingston to New York by the DEA and U.S. Marshals Service. The US Assistant Secretary of State noted that the matter is now in the hands of the U.S. Attorneys’ Office for the Southern District of New York.
Over the weekend, Prime Minister Bruce Golding appealed to G8 countries for greater assistance to countries like Jamaica in the fight against organized crime. This assistance, he said, must be broad-based and must recognize that rooting out crime is not just a law enforcement exercise but must be seen as a major development issue. The Prime Minister was speaking in Muskoka, Canada at a special outreach session of the G8 Summit on Friday June 25.
“When we go into communities and dismantle the criminal organizations that are embedded there, we leave a huge space which, if not quickly filled by meaningful programmes that empower people, provide training and jobs, create opportunities and offer hope, will shortly thereafter be filled by a new, smarter generation of criminals. The kind of social intervention that is needed requires resources that we don’t have. We need your help…lots of help”, Mr. Golding told last Friday’s G8 meeting.
