This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 NASSAU 002407 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NORTHCOM AND SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/22/2008 
TAGS: SMIG PREL PGOV CU BF
SUBJECT: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL RENEWS CALL FOR DETENTION 
CENTER FIRE INQUIRY 
 
REF: A. A) NASSAU 2335 
 
     ¶B. B) NASSAU 2355 
 
Classified By: Political Chief Michael P. Taylor, Reasons 1.4 b and d 
 
SUMMARY 
-------- 
 
¶1. (C)  37 Cuban nationals remain in detention in The Bahamas 
after a December 9 fire at a Nassau immigration facility 
following a disturbance initiated by detainees.  Amnesty 
International continues to call for an independent inquiry 
into the fire and accompanying melee, in which 11 Royal 
Bahamian Defence Force guards and 9 detainees were injured. 
Both Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell and The Bahamas' 
Ambassador to the U.S. have reportedly reached out to the 
Cuban-American community, which has been sharply critical of 
the Bahamian Government's actions and treatment of detainees. 
 
END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) Charge d'Affaires and Political Chief met with Peter 
Deveaux-Isaacs, the Acting Permanent Secretary at the 
Ministry of National Security, on December 21 to discuss a 
range of topics, including an extended discussion of the 
December 9th incident and fire at the Carmichael Road 
Detention Center (reftels).  Separately, Political Officer 
visited the detention center the morning of December 21. 
 
 
Cubans Remain at Detention Center and Prison 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) As of December 21, 4 adult Cuban women and 15 adult 
Cuban men remain at the Detention Center.  Eighteen other 
adult Cuban males thought by the Bahamians to be directly 
involved with the December 9 fire were transferred from the 
Detention Center and are being held at Her Majesty's Prison 
at Fox Hill.  They face possible arson charges arising out of 
the incident. 
 
¶4. (C)  All nine members of the "Partido Democratico 30 de 
Noviembre Frank Pais" group who have applied for political 
asylum remain in The Bahamas: Two or three of the group  who 
were not involved with the incident/fire are still at the 
Detention Center; six or seven others members of this group 
whom Bahamian authorities have under investigation as 
principals in the December 9 incident have been transferred 
to the Fox Hill.  An immigration officer at the Detention 
Center informed Political Officer that the Bahamian 
government, through its standard asylum process which 
involves a review of asylum applications by the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees, has determined that the members of 
this group are economic refugees, and so has privately 
decided not to grant them political asylum in The Bahamas. 
 
¶5. (C) Bahamian authorities the morning of December 21 
re-captured the one Cuban escapee who had remained at large 
since December 9.  He is currently being held by the police 
for questioning.  The Acting Permanent Secretary indicated to 
Charge that the escapee was captured in Nassau in the general 
proximity of the Detention Center, in an area in which 
evading notice and detection for this length of time -- 
without outside assistance -- would normally be unlikely. 
Deveaux-Isaacs said that the detainee had been arrested in a 
house and this strongly suggested to authorities that the 
individual had received assistance in evading re-capture. 
 
 
Amnesty Again Calls for Independent Investigation 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Amnesty International on December 20 sent a third 
letter to the Minister of Immigration again calling for an 
independent investigation into the conditions of detention 
for asylum-seekers and other migrants in The Bahamas, 
specifically referencing the December 9th fire and the use of 
force and firearms by detention center personnel.  Acting 
Permanent Secretary Deveaux-Isaacs believes that this third 
letter was sparked by a Jamaican national who on December 17 
made public allegations that he had been abused while at the 
Detention Center.  In its letter, Amnesty International 
welcomed the prompt investigation by the Bahamian Government 
to its earlier request for an inquiry into the incident that 
the investigation was conducted by an independent entity, and 
that the results of the investigation were promptly made 
public and debated in parliament.  In its follow-up letter, 
however, Amnesty requested that the scope of the 
investigation be broadened to examine overall conditions at 
the Center and include recommendations to alleviate any 
shortcomings that might be discovered. 
 
¶7. (C)  The Superintendent of the Detention Center, however, 
told Political Officer that the Jamaican in question is 
married to a Royal Bahamian Defense Force officer, has been 
detained three times, and was personally escorted out of the 
detention center by the Superintendent in good physical 
health.  The Acting Permanent Secretary at National Security, 
on the other hand, suggested that there might be some truth 
to the Jamaican's allegations, even if exaggerated.  He also 
believed that AI reacted quickly to the Jamaican's 
allegations because in the past the Bahamians have responded 
to Amnesty's queries by pointing out that no detainees other 
than Cubans have made similar complaints. 
 
¶8. (SBU)  The Bahamian Cabinet reportedly discussed the AI 
letter at its regular Tuesday meeting on December 21, 
although the Permanent Secretary at National Security doubted 
there would be any substantive response. 
 
 
Root Causes: Lack of Capacity and Cuban Reticence 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶9. (C) In meeting with Embassy officials December 21, the 
National Security Acting Permanent Secretary told Charge that 
he believed the Detention Center problems have two core 
causes.  First, he stated that the Immigration Department 
lacks the capacity to effectively manage and administer the 
center.  Defense Force officers are used as custodial guards 
at the facility, a duty for which they receive a limited 
amount of special training.  Overall, however, Defense Force 
personnel do not see a Detention Center assignment as 
attractive or career-enhancing.  The Center has three nurses, 
five Creole speakers, and four Spanish speakers on staff, 
although these personnel are not always present at the 
Center.  At peak times in 2004 the Center has housed over 
five hundred migrants pending repatriation, an overwhelming 
number which taxed the Center's modest resources. 
 
¶10. (C) Second, the Acting Permanent Secretary believes that 
the process for evaluating and repatriating Cuban nationals 
is excessively slow, leaving detainees, including children, 
in Bahamian custody for months at a time.  The political 
asylum process for Cubans goes in multiple stages.  First the 
migrants are given a series of questionnaires to fill out. 
Some of the "30 de Noviembre Frank Pais" members were 
reportedly hesitant to provide information until they spoke 
to their lawyers.  Next, a Bahamian immigration officer uses 
the information from the questionnaire to conduct an asylum 
interview.  Following this interview, the officer's 
assessment and recommendation is then forwarded to UNHCR for 
review.  An immigration officer at the detention center 
claimed that the assessment must be sent to UNHCR within two 
weeks of the migrant's detention.  UNHCR reviews the 
assessment and if the recommendation is to grant political 
asylum, the decision-memo is forwarded to the Bahamian 
cabinet for a final decision.  Detention Center personnel 
emphasized that UNHCR rarely if ever disagrees with the 
assessment the immigration officer first makes.  If the 
Cabinet decides to refuse political asylum, Bahamian 
immigration and MFA officials must then contact the Cuban 
government in Havana to begin the repatriation process. 
 
¶11. (SBU)  The repatriation process is further delayed once 
the case files on the interdicted migrants are forwarded to 
the Cuban Government.  Reportedly, the Cuban government 
conducts a case-by-case review to determine the background of 
the potential returning Cuban national before deciding 
whether or not to accept the repatriation.  Bahamian 
officials have told the Embassy that they often wait for 
months to get approval from the Cuban government to proceed 
with a repatriation.  (A group of twenty-eight Cubans, 
including all of the detained children, was accepted for 
repatriation on December 15, less than one week after the 
fire, following the intervention of the Cuban Consul in 
Nassau, Felix Wilson.)  Commenting on the cases in which the 
Bahamian Government did grant political asylum to Cuban 
migrants, the Acting Permanent Secretary complained that even 
if asylum is granted, the released detainees leave The 
Bahamas and "usually end up in the U.S. within a week." 
 
 
Bahamian Government Reacts to Allegations 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶12. (U) Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell, Bahamian Ambassador 
to the U.S. Ambassador Joshua Sears and Consul-General in 
Miami Alma Adams have reportedly all been reaching out to 
Cuban-American groups and leaders in Washington and Miami, 
respectively, in an effort to smooth relations with the 
Cuban-American community in South Florida.  Reportedly, they 
have been exasperated at the fragmented nature of different 
segments of the community in their out-reach effort.  This 
effort was in response to both the December 9 incident as 
well as to a group of Cuban-Americans who arrived to Nassau 
on a cruise ship last week and who very publicly refused to 
leave the ship in a protest against what they called a 
"shameful island" which was an "extension of tyranny's grip" 
and "somewhere Cuban oppression finds its best ally." 
 
¶13. (SBU) In a further indication of the GCOB's sensitivity 
to charges of mistreatment at the Detention Center and its 
impact on tourism, the Bahamian MFA also sent the Embassy a 
diplomatic note on December 17 seeking "urgent clarification 
regarding highly provocative remarks purportedly made by 
Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart," specifically quoting the 
Congressman's statement that the Bahamian government is 
"corrupt and cowardly."  The MFA Note queried whether this 
allegation represented the view of the U.S. government. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶14. (C) The Bahamian government is sensitive to its 
international reputation and the impact of unfavorable 
publicity on its chief industry -- tourism.  It generally 
attempts to avoid controversy whenever possible.  As one of 
the world's oldest democracies (its parliament just 
celebrated its 275th anniversary as a functioning body), it 
has been stung by charges alleging that it is little better 
than "Castro's gulag."  Limited resources, a tight budget, 
and international controversy have all combined to make the 
Bahamian government work overtime during what is normally an 
extended period of holiday celebration. 
 
WITAJEWSKI