Serious threat against PM’s life

04.JULY.08

EDITOR:

If the assassins succeed in killing the Prime Minister as planned, SVG would get a wake-up call about the dangers to our society and way of life posed by drug traffickers and money launderers. It would show, too, the courage of our Prime Minister, but he would be dead and gone.{{more}}

The sequence of events are clear:

1. The Government ensured the passage of a tough Proceeds of Crime and Money-Laundering (Prevention) Act in November 2001. The money-eyed criminals quake in their boots and start to attack the PM and the government. The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) is set up, in February 2002.

2. The Government beefs up the Police Force, sets up the Rapid Response Unit (RRU) _ “the Black Squad “_ strengthens the SSU, buys more equipment and vehicles for the Police, purchases more guns and amunition for the Police, buys the H K Tannis Coastguard vessel, builds or improves police stations, provides more training for the Police, raises the policemen/women’s salaries, and enhances the security links with regional and international agencies. The criminals, especially the moneyed-ones, are worried and deeply concerned. Threats against the PM’s life surface.

3. The Government ensures the passage of laws to make it more difficult for criminals in Court to raise the penalties for illegal guns and drugs. The criminals, especially the money-ones, are worried and deeply concerned. So, too, are their lawyers who use the media to fight the government. Opposition politics support these lawyers and criminals.

4. The Government beefs up the intelligence services and buys three more coastguard vessels, very fast ones. The moneyed-criminals and their lawyers and political supporters go berserk.

5. The law-enforcement agencies in SVG begin to target the drug barons and money-launders. No general policing, simply; targeted – policing commences. One drug baron is killed through internal feud; another from late 2005 onwards has his assets frozen, his organisation infiltrated, and two big drug seizures (one cocaine, one marijuana) effected; and three other drugs barons targeted. They are, for the first time ever, feeling the heat.

6. One of these three drug barons, the so-called “untouchable”, is put under real manners. A huge amount of American dollars for a cocaine transaction is intercepted; assets are frozen; his confederates are singing; his organisation is crippled; the lower-ranks are in turmoil and are running scared.

7. In the upshot of all this, threats are made against the PM’s life. He is seen as the architect of the campaign against the drug barons and money-launders. Conspiracies abound. Opposition political activists are caught in the squeeze, too.

8. From what was revealed to the public, here and regionally, the assassination plot against the PM is credible. Informed sources say that the evidence of it exists. But would the authorities compromise the sources? Are there bigger fish to fry?

The public ought to support their government and PM on this matter. I think that they do so, overwhelmingly.

Jonas Dublin