VZCZCXRO4317
PP RUEHGR
DE RUEHBH #0282/01 1211240
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 011240Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY NASSAU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6339
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NASSAU 000282 
 
SIPDIS 
 
WHA/PD FOR CHAD WEST, WHA/CAR FOR ANDRE CADIEUX 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KPAO BF
SUBJECT: TURKS AND CAICOS: BLOGGER ACCUSES COAST GUARD OF 
ENDANGERING MIGRANTS 
 
¶1.  (U) A blogger in the Turks and Caicos (TCI) posted an 
on-line report April 27 alleging that the TCI authorities, 
assisted by a U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) helicopter, were 
engaged in "burning and smoking immigrants out of the 'bush'" 
during an immigration raid.  The blogger witnessed the events 
and alleged that "human rights violations" were perpetrated 
against the illegal migrants sheltering in the area during 
the operation.  Photos of a USCG helicopter hovering over 
green areas amid smoke or dust clouds were attached. The blog 
is located at www.tcijournal.com. 
 
¶2.  (U) The USCG immediately initiated a review of the 
incident to include interviews with the aircrew involved. 
USCG District 7 Headquarters determined that the helicopter 
was acting within USCG procedures and at no time was 
attempting to "burn or smoke out" migrants.  The USCG further 
determined that no individuals, TCI security forces, or USCG 
personal were at risk during their operations.  The USCG role 
was to provide airborne observation assistance to TCI law 
enforcement operations. 
 
¶3.  (U) USCG PAO issued a response (para. 4) which was 
published on the blog site on April 30.  USCG PAO shared 
their response with Embassy Public Affairs but did not accept 
cleared language.  Prior to releasing their response USCG 
officials also shared the statement with TCI Governor Gorden 
Wetherell, who included portions of the response in his 
public statement.  To date no other media outlets have run 
the story and there has been no public response in TCI to the 
original post. 
 
¶4.  (U) Full Text of USCG Response: 
 
Mr. Berke - 
 
In response to your article in the TCI Journal, "Burning Down 
the Bush," I would like to clarify the U.S. Coast Guard's 
role in a joint mission with the Turks and Caicos government 
to apprehend undocumented migrants living illegally in the 
Blue Hills and Five Keys area.  First, please allow me to 
provide some background that may help to provide insight into 
the Coast Guard's interest in this mission. 
 
The U.S. government and Coast Guard have a long-standing 
relationship with the Government of the Turks and Caicos and 
the Coast Guard has been operating under the OPBAT program, 
which is a Tri-country agreement between the United States, 
the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos for more than twenty 
years on law enforcement issues of mutual interest.  The 
Coast Guard routinely supports law enforcement requests from 
the Turks and Caicos government due to the limited number of 
surface and air assets in the region. 
 
The Turks and Caicos police requested Coast Guard assistance 
in a mission they were conducting to apprehend illegal 
migrants in the Blue Hills and Five Keys areas.  This 
operation had been ongoing for several days when you saw the 
Coast Guard helicopter hovering overhead the Blue Hills area. 
 
The Coast Guard's role in this mission was not, as you 
stated, to "burn or smoke immigrants out of the bush."  At no 
time did a Coast Guard helicopter intentionally fan flames, 
redirect smoke or lower the aircraft to stir up debris or 
launch projectiles into the air with its tail rotor. 
Although it may have been difficult to discern from your 
vantage point, what you witnessed was a Coast Guard 
helicopter being utilized as a "spotter" for immigration 
officials on the ground.  The helicopter did vary its 
altitude between 50 and 100 feet to provide the best line of 
sight into the area and communicate with immigration 
officials on the ground via hand signal.  In no way was the 
safety of the illegal migrants, immigration officials or the 
Coast Guard helicopter crew in jeopardy nor were there any 
injuries to any individuals involved.  A significant amount 
of the smoke that you witnessed was from "ash piles" created 
when illegal migrant shanties were burned by Turks and Caicos 
officials days earlier.  The Coast Guard had no role in this 
aspect of the mission and thus cannot comment on it. 
 
If you have further questions on the U.S. Coast Guard's role 
in illegal migrant operations with the Government of Turks 
and Caicos, please feel free to contact me at 
matthew.j.moorlag@uscg.mil or (305) 415-7153. 
 
Respectfully, 
 
LT Matthew Moorlag 
U.S. Coast Guard 
Public Affairs Officer 
Seventh Coast Guard District 
 
NASSAU 00000282  002 OF 002 
 
 
Miami, FL 33131 
 
END TEXT. 
 
ZUNIA-BROWN