BAHAMAS-Bahamas PM wants the United States to follow proper process.

NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC – Prime Minister Philip Davis has called on the United States to follow proper process after breaking his silence on reports that undercover US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents operated in The Bahamas.

The US Ambassador Herschel Walker had publicly challenged the government’s complaint that DEA agents had operated in The Bahamas without the knowledge or authorization of local authorities.

Prime Minister Phillip Davis
Walker has also dismissed the suggestion that DEA agents had operated illegally as “fake news” and questioned why Bahamian officials were concerned about US authorities helping to arrest a known drug trafficker.

Davis, speaking to reporters, said that while he did not believe the dispute would tarnish relations between the two countries, his only wish is for Washington to follow the proper process.

“We’re not fearing anything. It’s not a question of fearing targeting criminals. We all want to get criminals out and ensure they pay for their crimes. It’s not about targeting criminals at all.

“It’s a question of the process. There’s a process between countries for when and how we engage. All that is being asked for is for the process to be followed,” said Davis.

The controversy on the subject was further reignited last week when the Bahamas Ambassador to the United States, Wendall Jones, said that “rogue” DEA agents have been conducting operations here and “destabilizing” the government.

Jones also asked for US officials to reveal the identity of “Politician-1”, an unnamed Bahamian politician who is alleged to have met with a drug dealer in Parliament to discuss the delivery of cocaine into the US.

Jones’ comments came following the arrest of convicted drug trafficker Jonathan Eric Gardiner, who was taken into custody in the US after a plane he was traveling on crashed in waters off Florida on May 12.

Gardiner was charged in June with drug importation and conspiracy offenses, with US officials alleging that he was moving tons of cocaine through The Bahamas with the protection of Bahamian government officials.

Earlier this week, Attorney General Wayne Munroe made similar statements to those of Jones, accusing the DEA agents of breaching Bahamian drug laws through their undercover operations.

“For many reasons, you do not go into another country and commit what is in essence a crime, because being involved with a CI [criminal informant] or somebody else supposedly agreeing to transfer drugs is a crime.”

Munroe said that The Bahamas has historically had a good working relationship with American authorities, especially as it relates to cocaine busts, but insisted that one-sided operations could easily go wrong.

The Bahamas also has a longstanding counter-narcotics relationship with the United States through Operation Bahamas, Turks and Caicos (OPBAT)

Walker, responding to Munroe’s statement, said he is encouraging Nassau to “work with its greatest ally”, adding that Washington stands ready to strengthen the relationship between the two countries, insisting also that the US cannot accept the “flow of drugs” to its shores any longer.

Prime Minister Davis told reporters he wants the United States to notify Bahamian authorities of its operations, reiterating that he does not believe the current public spat will affect their relations.

“I don’t think so. I take, quite frankly, as I said to my people, we ought to take the advice of the ambassador. What did he say? Just let us wait and see. So I take his advice, and I think we ought to wait and see.”