VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSP #0189/01 1182124
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 282124Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY PORT OF SPAIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9809
INFO RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHDC

UNCLAS PORT OF SPAIN 000189 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
DEPT FOR WHA/CAR, S/CT 
PLEASE PASS TO HILLARY BATJER JOHNSON AND PAUL SCHULTZ 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KVPR PER PREL PGOV CVIS ASEC KHLS TD
SUBJECT: PRACTICES OF THE GOVERNMENT OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO ON 
INFORMTION COLLECTING, SCREENING AND SHARING 
 
REFTEL: (A) STATE 32287 
  (B) 07 PORT OF SPAIN 1099 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED; PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY 
 
¶1.  (SBU) This cable responds to questions in ref A. 
 
Watch Listing 
------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The Government of Trinidad and Tobago (GOTT) maintains 
both an alert list of individuals who should be immediately detained 
upon entry and a watch list of people whose entry into Trinidad and 
Tobago (T&T) is made known to appropriate agencies for monitoring of 
movements.  The number of names on this list continues to be high, 
yet no effort has been made to cull the list.  The watch list and 
alert list are maintained by the Ministry of National Security. 
 
Traveler Information Collection 
------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The GOTT collects information from travelers arriving in 
T&T based on regulations in the Immigration Act.  The GOTT utilizes 
the INTERPOL computerized database to track entries and exits.  The 
travel documents of passengers arriving by air and sea, including 
passengers and crew of yachts and similar craft, are examined in the 
same manner by immigration officials.  Although policies are the 
same for arrivals by air and sea, a slight difference in regulations 
calls for more intensive monitoring of maritime arrivals, although 
this is not always practiced; one difficulty is that immigration 
officials monitoring maritime arrivals are generally presented with 
a paper list of names of passengers and crew and their nationality 
and passport information, making rapid screening difficult. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The GOTT may share information on individual travelers 
with foreign governments on a case-by-case basis if requested; there 
is no formal policy authorizing this, and information is not shared 
on a routine basis.  During the Cricket World Cup in 2007, various 
Caribbean nations cooperated on sharing data.  This led to the GOTT 
enacting the Advanced Passenger Information Act of 2008, which 
fostered sharing during the 2009 Fifth Summit of Americas (SOA). 
Perhaps as a result, GOTT law enforcement authorities detained 
several potential protesters upon arrival to T&T.  The GOTT collects 
passenger name record (PNR) data on incoming commercial flights or 
vessels, but this is sometimes in hard copy only.  U.S. Customs 
continues to work with T&T Customs and Excise officials to automate 
passenger lists and enter and retrieve them electronically.  PNR 
data is available to systematically screen travelers for 
intelligence or law enforcement purposes, but in practice arrivals 
by sea are more difficult to screen.  The GOTT does not have any 
existing treaties to share PNR data. 
 
Border Control and Screening 
---------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The GOTT employs software that has certain algorithms to 
screen travelers of security interest, but daily use is not 
guaranteed.  All travelers, both T&T citizens and other nationals, 
are recorded and tracked.  There is no data available on the 
frequency with which travelers are admitted with ostensibly bona 
fide documents that are not electronically recorded.  Unrecorded 
entries and exits by persons arriving from and departing  for 
Venezuela at locations other than official ports of entry continue 
to occur at a substantial rate; the number of such entries and exits 
may be between five and ten percent of all entries and exits. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) There is legislation that authorizes border control 
officials to use other criminal data when deciding who can enter the 
country.  Individuals attempting to enter without valid documents 
are referred by the Immigration Division in the Ministry of National 
Security to the Special Branch Police, who detain them until they 
can be sent back to the country from which they arrived. 
Occasionally, individuals are sent back without being questioned on 
the provenance of their false documents.  Government policies on 
questioning, detaining and denying entry to individuals presenting 
themselves at a point of entry follow regulations in the Immigration 
Act.  The GOTT also refers to International Conventions to which it 
is a signatory.  Information sharing within and among GOTT agencies 
continues to be sporadic, irregular, and not adequate for making 
rapid decisions or taking quick action.  Communication has improved, 
especially with the Fifth Summit of Americas, but sustaining this 
advance will be difficult. 
 
Biometric Collection 
-------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The only biometric data collection in the GOTT border 
control system continues to be facial recognition capability 
installed by the Canadian Banknote company.  Areas of installation 
 
remain limited.  Immigration Division officials are not legally 
authorized to take or collect fingerprints. 
 
Passports 
--------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The GOTT began issuing machine readable passports in 2007. 
 These passports include facial recognition features that are still 
not being utilized.  The GOTT does not share the public key to read 
data with other governments.  However, the system in place can read 
biometric data from other countries, provided they have made the key 
available.  The GOTT issues a standard passport with the normal 
five-year validity to replace a stolen or last passport.  There are 
no standard procedures in place for bearers who frequently report 
their passports lost or stolen.  However, each application to 
replace a stolen passport must be accompanied by a police report. 
The newer machine readable passports are not as likely to be 
reported lost or stolen.  There is an emergency passport that has a 
white cover (the regular passport is dark blue) and its own series 
of serial numbers. 
 
Fraud Detection 
--------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) There is a fraud unit within the police that investigates 
various instances of fraud, including the use of fraudulent 
documents.  In addition, as part of a training program conducted by 
the International Office of Migration (IOM), immigration officers 
are being issued hand-held scanners, loupes, and combination loupes 
and infrared and black light devices with which to examine 
passports.  The GOTT subscribes to the Edison database, which 
provides examples of all passports in the world and their 
identifying features.  In 2008, the GOTT in collaboration with the 
IOM and the USG, opened the Trinidad and Tobago Immigration Document 
Examination Laboratory (TTIDEL).  GOTT law enforcement officials use 
the laboratory to determine personal identity and document validity. 
 As it is the only laboratory of its kind in the region, the GOTT 
has shared gathered information with neighboring countries on a 
case-by-case basis. 
 
Privacy and Data Security 
------------------------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) The immigration and database system currently in use 
reportedly contains information on previous deportations.  Records 
related to questioning, detention and removal of individuals are 
kept on file indefinitely, usually in locked filing cabinets.  Some 
effort is being made to keep this information electronically as 
well.  The collection and use of sensitive data is restricted by 
privacy laws; however, data is shared among GOTT entities as 
required.  Post is not aware of any requirement to provide notice to 
the public concerning the implementation of new databases; post is 
also unaware of laws relating to security features for government 
computer systems that hold personally identifying information.  The 
Freedom of Information Act would allow an individual to request 
access to data, either raw data or case file data that domestic 
security agencies hold about them; however, there are some 
prescribed exceptions to the type of data that must be made 
available.  A non-citizen does not have the right to sue the GOTT to 
obtain data held by a government security agency about them. 
 
Identifying Appropriate Partners 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Concern over breaching its citizen's privacy might make 
some in the GOTT hesitant to enter into a formal data-sharing 
agreement with the USG.  Although the GOTT's legal system is 
sufficiently developed to adequately provide safeguards for the 
protection and non-disclosure of information, corruption at the 
working level exists.  The Ministry of National Security maintains a 
consolidated database and nominally shares this information with 
other agencies.  The GOTT defines terrorism in the Terrorism Act of 
2005 broadly as any act inside or outside of Trinidad and Tobago 
that is prejudicial to national security or disruptive of public 
safety.  It is punishable by up to 25 years of imprisonment. 
 
KUSNITZ