VZCZCXYZ0012
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSP #0849/01 1991137
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 181137Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY PORT OF SPAIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7111
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE
RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHDC
RUEAORC/US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION WASHINGTON DC

C O N F I D E N T I A L PORT OF SPAIN 000849 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CAR (FORTIN), INL/LP, CA/CO/F/P, FSI/SPAS/CON 
HOMELAND SECURITY FOR OFFICE OF STRATEGIC PLANS (KIDWELL) 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/17/2016 
TAGS: PREL SNAR CVIS KCRM CARICOM XL TD
SUBJECT: IMPLEMENTATION AGENCY DETAILS CARICOM CWC 
PREPARATIONS 
 
 
Classified By: Classified by:  A/DCM, A. D. Miller for reasons 1.4 (b/d 
) 
 
¶1.  (C) According to Lancelot Sellman, Director of CARICOM's 
Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS), the 
decisions made at the July 3 Heads of Government meeting will 
allow Cricket World Cup (CWC) security preparations to move 
forward at full speed.  He clarified the establishment of a 
regional Intelligence Fusion Center to be based in T&T, as 
well as plans for pre-positioning personnel in regional 
Command Centers.  He was intrigued by the potential of 
collaboration with the State Department on preparing a visa 
interviewing/issuance manual to go out to all CARICOM 
CWC-visa issuing posts.  Post would like to pursue this area 
of cooperation, as detailed in the action request in 
paragraph six.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (C) Political Officer met on July 12 with Lancelot 
Sellman, Director of CARICOM's Implementation Agency for 
Crime and Security (IMPACS) to obtain a Cricket World 
Cup-focused readout on the recent CARICOM Security Ministers' 
meeting, which took place prior to the Heads of Government 
(HOGS) meeting in St. Kitts.  Sellman bemoaned that CARICOM 
started very late on preparing for CWC, and that much remains 
to be done in a short time.  Sellman indicated that the 
political decisions made at the HOGS meeting will allow 
IMPACS to move forward more quickly.  Among the pertinent 
documents signed are the agreement that officially 
constitutes IMPACS as a CARICOM body, the Memorandum of 
Understanding on Intelligence Sharing and the Memorandum of 
Intent between CARICOM and the U.S. on developing the Advance 
Passenger Information System for Cricket World Cup 2007 (CWC). 
 
¶3.  (C) Using the CARICOM Communique as a springboard, 
Sellman provided more detail on the security and intelligence 
sharing arrangements that will be put in place for CWC 2007. 
He confirmed that Trinidad and Tobago will house a CARICOM 
"Intelligence Fusion Center."  This center will build on the 
CARICOM Information Sharing Network (CISNET) (due to come 
completely online by September) to streamline the sharing 
and, potentially, analysis of intelligence within CARICOM. 
The Center will likely remain in existence post-CWC.  To 
provide adequate personnel for the tournament, a CWC Command 
Center will be set up in Barbados, under the command of a 
Jamaican nominee, along with two sub-regional centers, one in 
Antigua and one in Trinidad.  The sub-regional centers will 
each have approximately 200 law enforcement and other 
officers pre-positioned to augment staffing needs for match 
day in the different locations.  Additionally, the 
sub-regional centers will have specialist rapid response 
teams, augmented by international personnel and materiel, 
designed to respond to crises or emergency situations that 
may arise.  Sellman noted that CARICOM will make specific 
requests at the upcoming July 26-27 meeting of the 
International Advisory Group in Barbados. 
 
¶4.  (C) For CWC, CARICOM will issue a common visa.  Sellman 
stated that IMPACS is working on producing training materials 
to ensure that all visa-issuing posts use the same criteria 
for visa decisions and identical procedures for processing 
the applications and producing the visas.  Sellman expressed 
interest in the State Department's extensive consular 
training program, including interviewing procedures.  Sellman 
would like to use the visa process to screen for undesirables 
or fraudulent applicants, as those countries that will 
require visas were selected specifically for the security 
risk they pose. 
 
¶5.  (C) Sellman expressed some disappointment that the 
Department of Homeland Security's assistance proposal was 
scaled back significantly from the system discussed 
previously.  He acknowledged that the system was probably too 
extensive to implement in time for CWC, but did inquire if 
CARICOM's "broader diplomacy" (meaning the apparent lean 
towards Venezuela for the UN Security Council seat) had any 
bearing on the ultimate offer.  Poloff assured Sellman that 
the "smartcard" proposal simply proved to be too large an 
undertaking for the time remaining, but that the U.S. was 
committed to providing assistance.  Sellman mused about 
whether the comprehensive program embodied in the smartcard 
proposal would eventually be put back on the table to help 
put the Caribbean back at the forefront of implementing the 
Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.  He indicated that 
CARICOM would still be interested in such collaboration in 
the near future. 
 
¶6.  (C) COMMENT AND ACTION REQUEST:  Post would like to 
 
actively pursue CARICOM visa issuance training with FSI and 
Consular Affairs.  Sellman understands the broader security 
concerns with issuing visas to come to the region, and would 
like to standardize the process as well as improve the 
professionalism of all CARICOM visa issuing officers.  This 
is an area where U.S. and CARICOM interests are clearly in 
synch.  The simple step of offering some pointers, or perhaps 
collaborating on a training video for CARICOM, would allow 
the U.S. to simultaneously improve the security of its third 
border and gain political points in the broader Caribbean. 
Post requests Department guidance on how to proceed with 
providing visa applicant screening assistance.  Embassy Port 
of Spain's Cricket World Cup security assistance point of 
contact is Political Officer Joseph Chamberlain, on e-mail at 
chamberlainjl@state.gov. END COMMENT. 
 
SWEENEY