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P 161338Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN
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INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE
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RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J5 MIAMI FL
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C O N F I D E N T I A L BRIDGETOWN 000469 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/14/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR PREL SNAR KCRM ST XL
SUBJECT: ST. LUCIA BY-ELECTION WON BY SUSPECTED DRUG 
TRAFFICKER 
 
REF: 05 BRIDGETOWN 589 
 
Classified By: DCM Mary Ellen T. Gilroy for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  The by-election held March 13 to fill a 
vacant seat in the St. Lucia Parliament was won by an 
individual suspected of drug trafficking.  Richard Frederick, 
who ran for the seat as an independent, is currently under 
investigation by U.S. and St. Lucia law enforcement 
authorities for involvement in a trafficking operation that 
uses St. Lucia as a transshipment point for Colombian 
cocaine.  How much is publicly known in St. Lucia about these 
allegations against Frederick is unclear at this time.  The 
election result could boost the prospects of the opposition 
United Workers Party (UWP) in upcoming national elections by 
demonstrating that a candidate can defeat the 
better-organized and funded ruling St. Lucia Labor Party. 
Some observers have taken the fact, however, that the UWP 
failed to run a candidate in the by-election as an indication 
of disarray within the party.  It remains to be seen whether 
Richard Frederick will formally join the opposition in 
Parliament or if the allegations against him will complicate 
matters in the next election.  End summary. 
 
---------------------------------- 
New MP a Suspected Drug Trafficker 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) The winner of St. Lucia's March 13 by-election, 
independent candidate Richard Frederick, is a suspected drug 
trafficker who is currently under investigation by U.S. and 
St. Lucia law enforcement authorities.  DEA Bridgetown 
reports that Frederick is believed to be involved in a 
trafficking operation that uses St. Lucia as a transshipment 
point for Colombian cocaine heading for the U.S. and other 
destinations.  According to a DEA source, the St. Lucia 
police were surprised by Frederick's election victory and 
believe he managed to mobilize associates that rank among the 
more undesirable elements of St. Lucian society to help him 
win the race.  A St. Lucia newspaper editor told Poloff that 
the impoverished constituency won by Frederick is full of 
"bad boys" who turned out to support their candidate. 
 
---------------------------------- 
How Much is Known about Frederick? 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) During the course of Frederick's brief election 
campaign, neither the press nor his opponents raised 
questions about alleged involvement in drug trafficking, 
indicating that little may be known about this issue outside 
of law enforcement circles.  Only one media outlet, the 
Cayman Island based Caribbean Net News, included any mention 
of Frederick's suspected illegal acitivies in its reporting. 
The St. Lucian press, however, failed to raise the issue at 
all.  Neither did Frederick's main opponent in the election, 
former Attorney General Victor La Corbiniere, who asked only 
why Frederick did not address law and order issues such as 
drugs, illegal weapons, and money laundering during the 
campaign.  One source told Poloff that nothing more than 
rumors are known about Frederick's supposed illegal 
activities, which no one dares publish or speak about 
publicly for fear of a libel suit. 
 
----------------------------- 
An Election Full of Surprises 
----------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) The March 13 by-election held to fill an empty seat in 
the St. Lucia Parliament was full of surprises, not the least 
of which was the victory of an independent candidate.  The 
by-election was precipitated by the January resignation from 
Parliament of Sarah Flood-Beaubrun, who represented a small 
third party, the Organization for National Empowerment (ONE). 
 The MP claimed to have resigned to protest unfair treatment 
of her party, but observers believe she hoped to force Prime 
Minister Kenny Anthony to call an early national election. 
The PM declined to take the bait and instead called a 
by-election to fill the empty seat that represents the 
central district of Castries, the St. Lucian capital. 
Anthony's ruling St. Lucia Labor Party (SLP) proceeded to 
choose as its candidate Attorney General Victor La 
Corbiniere, who resigned from his position in Government to 
campaign for the vacant seat. 
 
¶5. (U) Note:  Elections are not constitutionally due in St. 
Lucia until early 2007.  However, as a condition of hosting 
 
the Cricket World Cup in March 2007, St. Lucia, like other 
Caribbean nations, agreed to a moratorium on elections during 
the six months both before and after the sporting event. 
This means that St. Lucia is likely to hold national 
elections by September 2006.  End note. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Opposition Declines to Contest Election 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) The opposition United Workers Party initially intended 
to run as its candidate in the by-election former Prime 
Minister Vaughn Lewis, who dropped out of the race and 
announced he would exit electoral politics after he was 
criticized by party members as being a poor candidate.  The 
UWP ultimately chose not to contest the by-election and 
instead criticized PM Anthony for subjecting St. Lucia to a 
costly race for a single parliamentary seat rather than call 
national elections.  Observers speculated that the 
opposition, failing to find a suitable candidate for the 
by-election, opted to sit out the race rather than lose a 
seat that had traditionally been a UWP stronghold.  Such an 
outcome would have made the party look particularly weak just 
as former PM John Compton, who came out of retirement in 2005 
to take over the troubled organization, was preparing the 
opposition for the next elections (reftel). 
 
--------------------------- 
Independent Enters the Race 
--------------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) With just two weeks to go before the March 13 
by-election, Richard Frederick announced that he would run as 
an independent candidate.  The media reported that UWP 
members had pressed party leader John Compton to dub 
Frederick its official candidate, but Compton declined to do 
so.  After Frederick's independent candidacy became official, 
there was speculation that he was in reality a stalking horse 
for the UWP, which could take credit if Frederick won the 
race but would not look like a loser if he lost to the ruling 
party's candidate. 
 
------------------------------------ 
Short Campaign and Low Voter Turnout 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶8. (U) Although the campaign leading up to the by-election 
was brief, the race dominated the St. Lucia media.  This 
attention failed, however, to invigorate the public and the 
March 13 poll saw a turnout of only 34 percent of registered 
voters.  According to initial results, independent Richard 
Frederick won with 1,516 votes (47.7 percent) to 1,267 (39.6 
percent) for SLP candidate Victor La Corbiniere.  Third party 
candidate Sarah Flood-Beaubrun, who, in a strange twist, 
opted to run for the seat she had just resigned from, took 
415 votes (13 percent).  As a result of the election, the 
lineup of the 17-seat St. Lucia Parliament has remained 
unchanged with the SLP holding 14 seats to only 1 for the 
opposition UWP and 2 independent MPs. 
 
------------------------------------ 
Good or Bad News for the Opposition? 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶9. (U) The victory of an independent candidate may be a mixed 
blessing for the opposition.  While the UWP did not formally 
win the race, victorious independent candidate Richard 
Frederick is a UWP member, a fact that was highlighted during 
the brief election campaign.  Some observers have taken his 
winning over SLP candidate Victor La Corbiniere as a 
repudiation of the ruling party.  This may buoy the 
opposition as it prepares for elections later this year.  The 
fact, however, that the UWP failed to field a candidate in a 
constituency that was traditionally a stronghold of the party 
has been seen by some as an indication of continued 
organizational problems that the party will not be able to 
correct before national elections are held.  Such a result 
would consign the UWP to three straight election defeats. 
 
------------------ 
What Happens Next? 
------------------ 
 
¶10. (C) Comment:  How the election to Parliament of a 
suspected drug trafficker will play out in St. Lucia remains 
to be seen, as it is unclear at this time how widely known 
are the allegations against Richard Frederick.  If opposition 
 
leader John Compton knew about the charges of criminal 
activity, this may explain why he refused to anoint Frederick 
as the UWP's candidate in the by-election.  The fact that the 
press failed to raise serious questions about Frederick 
suggests, however, that either the allegations against him 
are not well known or that St. Lucians may prefer to simply 
look the other way.  From a law enforcement perspective, 
Richard Frederick's elevation to Parliamentarian could make 
the investigation into his suspected activities more 
difficult to pursue.  Post will continue to report on the 
various aspects of this situation as they develop. 
 
¶11. (C) An additional element of the St. Lucia by-election is 
the impact the result may have on the signing of an Article 
98 Agreement.  Former Attorney General Victor La Corbiniere 
was the USG's main point of contact on this issue within the 
Government of St. Lucia.  PM Anthony could re-appoint him as 
AG, but considering the various delays already encountered in 
negotiating an Article 98 Agreement it is likely that the 
election shakeup will be a further impediment to concluding 
an agreement.  End comment. 
KRAMER