Jamaican Prime Minister Is 'Known Criminal Affiliate' Of Hunted Drug Lord

By RICHARD ESPOSITO, MARK SCHONE and LUIS MARTINEZ

As official reports surface of accused drug lord Christopher Coke's escape from his barricaded Kingston, Jamaica neighborhood, where Jamaican authorities have been attempting to arrest him for extradition to the U.S., ABC News has learned that a U.S. government report refers to Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding as a "criminal affiliate" of Coke.

Golding, who led resistance to Coke's extradition before public opinion forced him to reverse himself, is described in a document read to ABC News as a "known criminal affiliate" of Christopher "Dudus" Coke. According to official U.S. accounts, Golding's Jamaican Labour Party (JLP) was voted into power through "Coke's murderous and strong-arm tactics."
Recently, Golding and other senior Jamaican officials have been electronically intercepted talking to Coke inside his fortified redoubt, US authorities say.
The major police action to capture Coke began Monday morning. On Tuesday, U.S. authorities said they believed Coke had escaped through a ring of hundreds of cops and soldiers who had surrounded the West Kingston neighborhood of Tivoli Gardens. Jamaican and US authorities report that Coke may have slipped through police lines and escaped into one of two adjoining areas, either Denham Town or Jones Town.
source: abcnews.go.com




WHAT IS THE GOVERNMENT HIDING?
The security force was sent into Tivoli Gardens on Sunday and since then media personnel’s has been denied access to carry information from Tivoli by the security forces. There is no visuals coming out of Tivoli so people are now wondering what the state of the people in Tivoli is and how badly was it damage?

Mr. Vaz minister of Information stated on PBC Jamaica post cabinet meeting a few minutes ago that JIS the Jamaica Information Service was the only media that was allowed into Tivoli Gardens to carry a report. How ironic that the JIS is a Government owned station and so we will only be seeing what the Government wants us to see if not why then is other media houses were not allowed inside Tivoli Gardens, WE THE People are now asking the question what is the government hiding?




Dead and injured taken to KPH


Bodies piling up at the Kingston Public Hospital and JDF trucks keep transporting bodies all day to the institution. It is not confirmed yet how many bodies were being taken in but the estimate that was given is that there was over 26 bodies. And at this point the situation still remains tense we will continue to update you as the story unfolds here in Kingston Jamaica.



'DUDUS' STILL AT LARGE


BY KARYL WALKER

TIVOLI Gardens strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke is still at large despite a major
security dragnet imposed on the volatile community of Tivoli Gardens during a two-day operation by the security forces.
National Security Minister Dwight Nelson made the announcement during a press briefing at Prime Minister Bruce Golding's official residence, Vale Royal, this afternoon.
"Up to the last briefing I got the answer is no," Nelson told journalists.
The security forces stormed the community in an attempt to serve an arrest warrant on Coke, who is wanted by United States authorities on gun and drug running charges.
Official police reports are that 26 civilians, two police officers and a soldier have been killed during the outbreak of violence. Seven cops and four Jamaica Defence Force soldiers were also injured.
Army fatigues, ballistic vests, binoculars and a cache of guns and ammunition were recovered during the operation.
Colonel Rocky Meade, head of communications of the Jamaica Defence Force shot down claims that soldiers were burning bodies inside Tivoli Gardens.
"Based on our training I would be very surprised if those reports were true," Meade said.
He said the security forces used the necessary force to repel the threat posed to the state.
"The JDF owns no fighter jets but I can assure you that we used no more force than was necessary to protect our troops," Meade said.


STRESS IN KINGSTON CITY

WITH the ongoing standoff between security forces and gunmen in West Kingston, life in the city is still not back to normal.
Travelling to work today people would have noticed levels of traffic still lower than normal. Meantime the Jamaica Urban Transport Service (JUTC) announced that its service to downtown is still not to resume.
Businesses, including Air Jamaica, have closed their premises downtown. Meantime all schools in Kingston remain closed until further notice.
The Observer has been touring the city all morning including the trouble spot of Red Hills Road in St Andrew where police and soldiers repeated yesterday's work of clearing roadblocks.
Similar actions had to be undertaken in Spanish Town, St Catherine where public transport was delayed until the roads could be cleared.
In sections of Tivoli Gardens residents who have been penned in the crossfire between security forces and gunmen have been calling the Observer reporting that they have gone almost a day without food and water.

"From early this morning soldiers have been firing at buildings when people have been attempting to come out of their homes," said one angry female caller.
She claimed that most of the gunmen were either dead or have fled the community after security forces began their assault yesterday.
She appealed for the authorities to render some assistance. Government has made available buses to evacuate residents from the community.


courtesy of the heraldsun.com,ABC News & Jamaican Observer