Christopher Dudus Coke: State of Emergency

If there was any doubt as to the power and influence of Christopher Dudus Coke --- who controls a section of Kingston, Jamaica, known as Tivoli Gardens --- that has been put to rest.

• Parts of Kingston are under a State of Emergency 
• Two police stations have been attacked 
• A third one, in Hannah Town, was set ablaze. 

Armed gunmen who were responsible for those unprovoked attacks on the police stations have been joined by many residents of the barricaded West Kingston community in declaring their support for Christopher Dudus Coke. The message to the security forces and the government was clear: Try to arrest "Dudus" and there will be all out war.

The unrest began after the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Bruce Golding, declared that an arrest warrant had been issued for Christopher Dudus Coke who is being sought by U.S. authorities on gun-trafficking and drug charges. It took 9 months of procrastination by the government before the decision was finally made to grant the request for the extradition of Coke to the U.S. to face those charges.

In responding to the unrest and declaring a State of Emergency for parts of Kingston, the Prime Minister said security forces would be "moving swiftly to bring the current situation under control".

"Criminal elements bent on violence and mayhem will be detained," he said in a televised address.

"What is taking place is a calculated assault on the authority of the state that cannot be tolerated, and will not be allowed to continue."

Prime Minister Bruce Golding stressed that Kingston “is not being shut down,” and schools and businesses outside the battle zone will be open.

Police Commissioner Owen Ellington said “scores of criminals” from gangs across the Caribbean island had traveled to West Kingston to join the fight.

“It is now clear that criminal elements are determined to launch coordinated attacks on the security forces,” he said.

Police said the attacks were unprovoked and called for all “decent and law-abiding citizens” in the troubled areas to immediately evacuate their homes and said security forces would ferry them out safely.

While the U.S. sees Christopher Dudus Coke as a dangerous criminal involved in the international drug trade, in Tivoli Gardens he is a leader or "Don" who provides for the welfare of the community. Many see him as a benefactor who for many years has ensured their safety and is mainly responsible for sending their children to school and putting food on their tables.

Hundreds of residents of West Kingston took to the streets last week to voice their support for Dudus:

"After God, then Dudus," read one placard. "Jesus died for us so we will die for Dudus," read another, and these were not idle sentiments.

"Leave 'Dudus' alone. Him a law-abiding citizen," many of them shouted as they assembled outside the Denham Town Police Station.

Many of the supporters who came out in defense of Dudus were women who were very vocal in their praise of Coke's benevolence and said they were prepared to die for the man who is wanted by the U.S. as a dangerous criminal. An article in the Jamaica Observer explores the connection between the women and men of influence in their communities.

Christopher Dudus Coke himself has had very little to say. While the uproar in the streets continue and his lawyers fight the extradition order in the courts, he has kept a very low profile. According to the Jamaican newspaper The Gleaner: 

Dudus "is not one of those flashy dons who one sees at every dance or nightclub 'flossing' with bottles of high-priced liquor and scores of scantily dressed girls in his entourage."

He is also not one of those dons who crave the attention of the media while flaunting power.

"You know that I don't talk to the media," is the stock response from Dudus on the few occasions journalists have been able to get close enough to ask him questions. But make no mistake, Christopher Dudus Coke wields enormous power.

In another article The Gleaner takes a look at how the Prime Minister owes his position to Dudus. Without his approval Bruce Golding would not be the representative from West Kingston nor the Prime Minister.

"The power-sharing framework between the man who formally represents the West Kingston constituency in which Tivoli Gardens is located, and the man who really runs the place, is just as fascinating."

The article traces the history of the links between politics and the streets and where the real power resides. For more background material on the Dudus controversy see the articles below:

Christopher Dudus Coke: Wanted 

Will Christopher Dudus Coke be Extradited 

Christopher Dudus Coke: Still Wanted

Christopher Dudus Coke: Extradition Approved

What happens next? Will the securities forces try to storm the barricaded Tivoli Gardens community? Will Christopher Dudus Coke give himself up? Will Bruce Golding be forced to resign as Prime Minister? No one really knows the answers. All we can do is hope that things don't get worse before they get better.....more to come.

UPDATE: Christopher Dudus Coke: Captured 

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Christopher Dudus Coke: Extradition Approved

The government of Jamaica has decided to approve the request from the United States for the extradition of Christopher Dudus Coke on drugs and gun charges. The decision ends 9 months of tension between the two countries over the status of the request.

For a detailed history of the Christopher Dudus Coke controversy see the following articles:

• Christopher Dudus Coke: Wanted 
• Will Christopher Dudus Coke be Extradited 
• Christopher Dudus Coke: Still Wanted

In a speech televised to the Jamaican nation on May 17, 2010 the Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, said in part:

I crave your understanding, the government has never refused... never refused... the request for the extradition of Christopher Coke. It has simply asked the US authorities to provide additional information that would enable the Minister to issue the authorization in compliance with the terms of the treaty. In the controversy that has ensued, we sought the opinion of one of Jamaica's most eminent lawyers, Dr. Lloyd Barnett, who advised that the issues involved were not sufficiently settled in law, and therefore the Attorney-General should seek a declaration from the Court before exercising her authority.

I wrestled with the potential conflict between the issues of non-compliance with the terms of the treaty and the unavoidable perception that because Coke is associated with my constituency, the government's position was politically contrived. I felt that the concepts of fairness and justice should not be sacrificed in order to avoid that perception. In the final analysis, however, that must be weighed against the public mistrust that this matter has evoked and the destabilizing effect it is having on the nation's business. Accordingly, the Minister of Justice, in consideration of all the factors, will sign the authorization for the extradition process to commence.

Click here for a complete transcript of the speech

The very next morning Jamaica's Attorney General Dorothy Lightbourne signed the extradition order and passed it to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Paula Llewelyn who immediately secured the warrant for Coke's arrest from the court.

Senator Tom Tavares-Finson who had acted as Christopher Coke's lawyer, served notice that he will be withdrawing as Coke's attorney. He had been criticized publicly for defending Coke while at the same time holding a position in the government. He will be replaced by attorneys, Jacqueline Samuels Brown and Paul Beswick.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding had come under heavy criticism for his government's delay in signing the extradition request, which had been issued in August 2009. It was evident that his procrastination was a source of frustration for the American authorities which issued a scathing report on Jamaica's role in the international drug trade.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding also faced domestic pressure from the parliamentary opposition the People's National Party (PNP) and many other organizations which felt that he was doing everything he could to protect Christopher Dudus Coke for political reasons. Coke was not only a strong supporter of the Prime Minister's party, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), but was also in control of the Prime Minister's constituency of Tivoli Gardens where he (Coke) is regarded as a "Don" and is unanimously respected and beloved by the people who live there.

In fact, there lies a huge problem for the government if and when they attempt to execute the arrest warrant. There is bound to be civil unrest and quite possibly armed opposition from the people of Tivoli Gardens if the security forces attempt to take Christopher Dudus Coke into custody.

According to Reneto Adams, a retired senior superintendent of police, even if Coke could be taken into custody there would have to be massive security arrangements put in place:

"If he is arrested, the Government would have to deploy added security in key strategic places. You would also have to house him at Up Park Camp and certain routes on which he would be driving would have to be closed down. We are looking at an extensive operation because this man has great influence," said Adams.

"It will be a maximum security plan with all kinds of persons involved: people from the intelligence arena, people from the strike force, obviously some snipers will be in place," he added.

In the meantime residents of Tivoli Gardens are preparing for the worst. Upon hearing of the arrest warrant for Christopher Dudus Coke, Tivoli Gardens has been turned into a fortified community with roadblocks erected at all main entrance points. However there has been no signs of violence so far and after initial apprehension it appears as if businesses in the downtown area are open.....at least for now.

UPDATE: Jamaica declares State of Emergency!

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Branded with a Swastika

An unidentified 22-year-old native American man from the Navajo Indian reservation was brutally attacked on April 29 by three white men: Jesse Sanford, 24, William Hatch, 28, and Paul Beebee, 26 in what prosecutors in Farmington, northwestern New Mexico, are calling a hate crime. The three were accused of kidnapping and branding the 22-year-old, mentally challenged man with a swastika.

"We'll explore every conceivable available avenue in charging them with a hate crime because what happened to the victim was so horribly wrong," said Chief Deputy District Attorney Sarah Weaver. "The U.S. Attorney's Office is very interested in taking the case."

Police believe the men heated a wire hanger fashioned in the shape of a swastika to burn the victim's flesh. The suspects are also accused of shaving a swastika symbol on the back of the 22-year-old victim's head and drawing degrading pictures and words on the man's body with red and black permanent markers, Farmington Police Sgt. Robert Perez said.

The words "White Power" were written on the back of the victim's neck and two horns were drawn with red marker on the victim's face above his eyebrows, an electric beard trimmer was used to shave the swastika into his hair. Video and photographs were also taken on a cellular phone to record the incident. Police took the victim to San Juan Regional Medical Center, where he was treated and released.

Jesse Sanford, one of the accused men, told police that on April 29 the victim came into the McDonalds restaurant on East Main Street, where all three suspects work, looking for a place to stay. Sanford claimed the victim, who wanted a haircut and a tattoo, "wanted the swastika design because it was a tribal symbol," according to court records.

Investigators believe the victim was coerced into a vehicle and taken to an apartment on 28th Street where the attack occurred. After the incident they kicked the victim out of the residence and he went to the 7 to 11 convenience store at 710 E. 30th St., for assistance and a store clerk there called 911.

Police obtained search warrants to search the apartment and vehicle. They found evidence to suggest that the accused were white supremacists.

"We haven't identified this as a gang-related crime, that is still under investigation," Perez said. "But they appear to be associated in some fashion to the white supremacist movement."

Sanford was being held at the San Juan County Adult Detention Center for misdemeanor charges related to a motor vehicle crash at the time the warrants were issued. Beebe and Hatch were arrested Friday night. All three men were charged with: First-degree felony kidnapping, Second-degree felony conspiracy to commit kidnapping, Third-degree felony aggravated battery causing great bodily harm and Fourth-degree felony conspiracy to commit aggravated battery, according to Sgt. Robert Perez. Beebe also faces fourth-degree felony tampering with evidence. All three men are being held on a $150,000 cash-only bond.

The hate crime law in New Mexico results in a sentencing enhancement of one year for each charge. The suspects face 35.5 years in prison, including a mandatory 18 years for the first-degree felony kidnapping charges, if convicted of all the charges and the hate crime enhancement. Beebe faces an additional 18 months for the tampering with evidence charge. Federal charges may also be filed.

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