Dear Editor,

I know it was with a heavy heart that Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding rescinded his earlier decision to delay or avoid the extradition of Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke, the notorious crime lord wanted by the US. The much anticipated chaos resulting from such a decision has started. Open clashes between the police and criminal elements of the West Kingston area have begun and have intensified.

Even though initial attempts by the Jamaican government, more so the Prime Minister, to drag its feet and try as hard as possible to delay the extradition of Dudus, it is heartening to see that wisdom prevailed and that the extradition will proceed. Of course we know that this decision came with its share of embarrassment for the ruling Jamaican Labor Party (JLP). The party’s audacity to hire a law firm to lobby the US against going through with the extradition order was not only asinine, but highlighted just how much influence Dudus has on the JLP.

Today we see the determination of the Jamaican police to capture Dudus. The Prime Minister in an urgent address to the nation regarding the criminal protest said it was “a calculated assault on the authority of the state that cannot be tolerated, and will not be allowed to continue… the threats that have emerged to the safety and security of our people will be repelled with strong and decisive action.”

Those strong words indicate that all ties to Dudus have been cut. He has a lot of information that the US is eager to garner on his relationships with some very high-profile Jamaican politicians.

This is a lesson for the criminal minds who believe that by aligning themselves with the state they will benefit from unlimited immunity. It is important to note that when the day of reckoning comes the state will always cut crime lords free. And Guyana is no exception. It’s just that the right pressure has just not yet been applied in the right areas.

Yours faithfully,
Richard Francois