The Caribbean's Cocaine Aristocrats

My neighbour was found dead in the Town That Never Sleeps (except that it now does because all the revellers are too old). He had no job but he had a lot of money.We shared the same family name so we must have been related somehow but I knew nothing about him except that he lived next door in a very small house, that he had many children and that he was found lying face down, shot and hauled like a beached whale into the yellow green and gold verandah of his best friend in the town of Gouyave. A salutary warning perhaps. We asked no questions. There were no investigations. Even now, for no reason, I shudder as I write this.  Pen mightier than sword. Pen mightier than sword. Or gun.  I repeat it. I remind myself. I comfort myself. They don't know where I live. At least I hope so.

In small sleepy Caribbean towns and villages, there would always be a man who has a big heart and an even bigger pocket. He would be self made, of not too wealthy stock, and  his background would not provide any explanation as to where his new found capital might have originated. The government of the day would be on side. He would have friends in lots of high places- the police and the armed forces. He would be responsible for entertainment events that bond villages, communities and towns and supposedly nurture talent. He would sponsor a few sporting and cultural activities. If he did not do so, he would be reputed to have properties in the UK and in the US. He would own a few legitimate businesses and companies that employ a number of people in the community. Through these, he maintains a veritable laundromat- dirty money is washed whiter than white. This man is venerated and idolised. Everybody is grateful.  He maintains power and control over his microcosm and maintains it with strict orders. The wife and mistress and girlfriend are loyal because they are all kept in a certain manner- weave, shoes, clothes.  Other bitches are damn jealous. He has cult status, so lavish is his spending, so profligate his giving. He imports European vehicles. If he smokes, he only smoke Cuban cigars. If he drinks, he only drinks Johnny Walker Black.

He is generous with his platitudes because they are the platitudes that the people who support him value- fetes, passa passa, more fetes and more parties. He will probably kill a cow or a sheep now and again  for the village- a sacrifice to the gods? His venues overflow, his reputation is consolidated, no one bats an eyelid or asks the important question of where this flood of investment capital comes from. Sure, there are whispers but no one dares to state the obvious. Meanwhile crime rates increase, there are stories of people who are found dead off small islands and guns appear to be swarming small fishing towns.

The Caribbean's position of being the Vortex of the Americas and its proliferation of small inlets and coves make it ideal to facilitate furtive, illegal transactions. Some Caribbean countries, like St. Vincent, have over 600 islets and states like The Bahamas are archipelagos consisting of more than 700 islands and 200 cays. Drug consumption is not rabid in the Caribbean- the epicentre and the controlling minds are in the West. Caribbean people are the proverbial middlemen in this new triangle trade. In the land of the middlemen, some get to be king.

Jamaica has long been key to the drug trade, given its long coastline, its proximity to the United States, the high number of ports, harbors, and beaches, and its closeness to the Yucatan and Windward Passages. Although the epicentre of the cocaine trade is Colombia, Jamaica’s west and south coast are the most popular areas for air trafficking. Middle men who are responsible for importing drugs to the West are appointed as local lords. Christopher Coke (is this a joke? Is his middle name Ganja?) seems to be one of the cocaine aristocrats that was so beloved by his flock, that they gave up their lives for him. It appears ironic that the greatest love, as defined by Jesus, to lay down one's lives for one's friends, was accorded to a known drug dealer. It is sad that his disciples did not make the link between the bitter gangfights in their communities or the abject poverty and violence that featured in Tivoli Gardens with a business that sucked the life out of their towns like ladiablesses taking souls. The drug trade pays no respect and pays no taxes. It is a system based on exploitation and does not reward hard work. Lives are dispensable. Children are customers. It is sadder though, that ordinary community minded individuals are so disenfranchised and abandoned by government, that they are left to be ruled and to be dependent on an illegal trade that operates above the law. Who will be their advocates?

To be honest, given the suspected link between Coke and the government, I  doubt the veracity of the evidence of the supposed honour bullets. I am not sure that these people actually gave up their lives- how are we not sure that they are victims of a shoot on sight policy, to destroy any evidence of any governmental collaboration or support? It seems very much like the prison fire cover up before a similar extradition many moons before. It has now come to light that the Government's party, the JLP, hired US firm Manatt Phelps &; Philips to request that the US government put in further information to support the extradition request. I  must admit that I would not ordinarily be shocked at opposition to an ordinary extradition request.  Small islands are fiercely protective of their own sovereignty and  my instinct was to say who the hell is America anyway (Obama or no Obama) to request extraditing a man who walked the streets of Brooklyn but who they lost track of? We are past the era of Manifest Destiny. In any event, Dudus' kilos of cocaine and informal network pales in comparison to underworld crime on the streets of New York and Baltimore.

I was more shocked and appalled that it was the national, incumbent political party that would choose to fund and instruct Counsel to lobby the US government to oppose Coke's extradition. What was the impetus and basis for this level of involvement? Investigations show that the funds came from Coke's business- Incomparable Enterprises Limited and went through the government's Tourism Enhancement Fund. The lawyers in question are alleged to have met with Mr Coke and knew directly that these funds were coming from him.  What message does that send? Who is really running Jamaica anyway? It is also reported that Mr Coke is very benevolent to the Government of Jamaica and recently hosted a party for the present Attorney General.

Rest assured, this is not only happening in Jamaica. With no accountability and no lobby for freedom of information in the Caribbean, this situation is only the top of the coconut tree. When we vote political parties in power,we do not know about the levels of illegal funding, kickbacks and deals that are made behind closed doors and about dodgy bequests that are not entirely above board. For now, given that more than 60 people have lost their lives and this man still cannot be found, it seems like the cocaine aristocrats are the ones who are in charge of our countries.

(Photo copyrighted and used from caribbeandreamstv.com)