Four suspects in killing of Haitian president sent to US

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Caribbean News Service

Four key suspects in the July 7, 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise were transferred from Haiti to the United States on Tuesday to face criminal charges, the US Justice Department has announced.

A total of seven suspects in the case are now in US custody. Dozens of others still languish in Haiti’s main penitentiary, which is severely overcrowded and often lacks food and water for inmates.

The department on Tuesday said Haitian-American dual citizens James Solages, 37 and Joseph Vincent, 57, and Colombian citizen German Alejandro Rivera Garcia, 44, have been charged with conspiring to commit murder or kidnapping outside the United States.

A fourth man, Haitian American Christian Sanon, 54, is charged with smuggling ballistic vests from the United States to Haiti for use in the assassination plot.

The four will appear in federal court in Miami on Wednesday.

The US Justice Department has already charged three others in the assassination, with Sanon, who the department called an “aspiring political candidate,” a key leader of the operation.

It said Sanon recruited about 20 Colombians with military training, led by Rivera Garcia, to help carry out the assassination.

The Colombian squad shot Moise dead on the night of July 6 to 7, 2021 in his private residence in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

“On July 6, 2021, Solages, Vincent, Rivera and others met at a house near President Moise’s residence, where firearms and equipment were distributed and Solages announced that the mission was to kill President Moise,” the department alleged.

US law is being applied in this case because the plan to kill the Haitian president was allegedly partly organised on US soil in Florida, by American-Haitian nationals.

The three charged with the assassination face up to life in prison. Sanon faces up to 20 years for his role in supplying the operation.

Meanwhile, the case has reached a virtual standstill in Haiti, with local officials last year nominating a fifth judge to investigate the killing after four others were dismissed or resigned for personal reasons.

One judge told the AP news agency his family asked him not to take the case because they feared for his life. Another judge stepped down after one of his assistants died in murky circumstances.

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Barbados: Integrity bill laid in Parliament

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Caribbean News Service

A revamped Integrity in Public Life Bill went before Parliament on Tuesday outlining heavy fines for those found guilty of an offence under the legislation and a threat of disqualification from holding public office by guilty parties.

“Specified individuals” face the possibility of being fined as much as $50,000 or in some cases, they can be jailed for up to one year, if they are found guilty of an offence. Similarly those individuals captured under the bill could face a fine for failure to report a gift worth over $2,500.

These provisions are outlined in the revised piece of legislation which was laid in Parliament on Tuesday, and will now include incoming judges of the Supreme Court, directors of public prosecution and auditors general.

According to Section 17 of the legislation, an individual who fails to file a declaration without reasonable cause is guilty of an offence and is liable to a fine of $50,000.

An individual who fails to comply with a directive given by the Integrity Commission or the President to place all or part of their assets in a blind trust based on “reasonable grounds”, can also be fined $50,000.

Specified individuals under the legislation include members of the House of Assembly and the Senate, members of the Cabinet, Permanent Secretaries and heads of departments in the public service and holders of public office in the same grade as heads of departments.

A specified person may also refer to chief executive officers, general managers and other executive heads of state-owned enterprises, chairpersons of state-owned enterprises, magistrates and senior officers of the commission.

“A member of the House of Assembly or the Senate who, without reasonable cause, fails to file a statement of registrable interests that he is required to file, is guilty of an offence and is liable, on summary conviction, to a fine of $50 000,” it added.

The bill also outlines that, “A member of the House of Assembly or the Senate who knowingly files with the Commission a statement of registrable interests that is incomplete or false in any material particular is guilty of an offence and is liable, on summary conviction, to a fine of $50 000 or to imprisonment for one year or to both.”

The legislation further states that where a member of the House of Assembly or the Senate fails to comply with an order under specific sections of the bill within a specified period, the offence shall be deemed to be a continuing offence “and the member shall be liable to a further fine of $3 000 for each day on which the offence continues”.

A member of the House of Assembly or the Senate who is convicted of an offence under section 17 or 20 of the bill “is liable, in addition to any other penalty prescribed by law, to be disqualified from holding any public office for a period of 10 years from the date of conviction for the offence”, according to the legislation.

The law also makes provision for the yet-to-be established Integrity Commission to “make rules prescribing the circumstances in which the acquisition by a specified person in public life of an interest in a contract with the Government or a state-owned enterprise is prohibited.”

According to the proposed legislation, “No member or employee of the commission shall be liable to any action or suit for any matter or thing done by him in good faith as a member or employee of the commission or in the exercise of his functions or the course of his employment, as the case may be.”

Section 23 makes provision for individuals captured under this law who receive a gift worth more than $2,500, or whose spouse or child receives such a gift, to make a report of it to the Integrity Commission using the appropriate form.

The legislation states that individuals “shall state in the report the name and address of the donor, the description and approximate value of the gift and whether, in the opinion of the recipient, the gift is a personal gift or an official gift.”

“This section does not apply to a personal gift received by a specified person in public life from a relative or friend,” it said.

“A specified person in public life who is unsure whether a gift received from a relative or friend is a personal gift or an official gift may apply to the commission seeking an opinion as to the proper classification of the gift,” it added.

The bill further outlined that where the commission finds that a gift was given to a specified person in public life personally and it was “trivial, or it was not trivial but was not intended to be a motive or reward for doing or forbearing to do anything in the course of the discharge of his official functions or for causing any other person to do or forbear from doing anything, the commission shall allow the specified person in public life to retain the gift”.

However, where a specified person in public life who, without reasonable excuse fails to comply with Section 23 of the law, he or she “is guilty of an offence and is liable, on summary conviction, to a fine, which shall not be more than three times the value of the gift involved in the commission of the offence”.

If an individual makes an incomplete or false report in relation to the receipt of gifts, they shall also be found guilty of an offence “and is liable, on summary conviction, to a fine, which shall not be more than three times the value of the gift involved in the commission of the offence or to imprisonment for six months or to both.”

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Marcella Liburd sworn in as St. Christopher and Nevis’ first female Governor-General

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Caribbean News Service

History was witnessed on Feb. 1, in the Federation of St. Christopher and Nevis when the first female Governor-General was sworn in, in the person of Marcella Liburd, during a brief but significant ceremony at Government House.

Liburd, who succeeds Samuel Weymouth Tapley Seaton, was administered the Oath of Office and Oath of Allegiance, making her the fifth Governor-General of the Federation of St. Christopher and Nevis.

Before being appointed as Governor-General Liburd served as the Federation’s Governor-General’s Deputy since September 2022.

The swearing-in of Governor-General Marcella Liburd was attended by a small group of invitees. An installation ceremony is scheduled for the first female Governor-General at Government House on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 4:30 p.m.

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The world is not ready for the next pandemic, warns the IFRC

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Caribbean News Service
Jagan Chapagain.

No earthquake, drought or hurricane in recorded history has claimed more lives than the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the world’s largest disaster response network, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

The shocking death toll–estimated at more than 6.5 million people–has inspired the humanitarian organization to take a deep dive into how countries can prepare for the next global health emergency.

Two groundbreaking reports released by the IFRC network today, the World Disasters Report and the Everyone Counts Report, offer insights into successes and challenges over the past three years–and make recommendations for how leaders can mitigate tragedies of this magnitude in the future.

Ariel Kestens, IFRC Head of Delegation for the English and Dutch-speaking Caribbean, says:

“The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us many lessons, chief among them is that being prepared is crucial to any disaster. Many countries around the world and within this region were not ready for COVID-19. The effects of the pandemic, exacerbated by the many climate-related disasters in the region, have shown us that true preparedness means being ready for multiple simultaneous hazards.”

Jagan Chapagain, IFRC’s Secretary General, remarks:

“The COVID-19 pandemic should be a wake-up call for the global community to prepare now for the next health crisis. Our recommendations to world leaders center around building trust, tackling inequality, and leveraging local actors and communities to perform lifesaving work. The next pandemic could be just around the corner; if the experience of COVID-19 won’t quicken our steps toward preparedness, what will?”

The IFRC network across the world reached more than 1.1 billion people over the past three years to help keep them safe from the virus. During that time, a theme that emerged repeatedly was the importance of trust. When people trusted safety messages, they were willing to comply with public health measures that sometimes separated them from their loved ones in order to slow the spread of the disease and save lives. Similarly, it was only possible to vaccinate millions of people in record time when most of them trusted that the vaccines were safe and effective.

Those responding to crises cannot wait until the next time to build trust. It must be cultivated through genuinely two-way communication, proximity, and consistent support over time.

In the course of their work, Red Cross and Red Crescent teams documented how the COVID-19 pandemic both thrived on and exacerbated inequalities. Poor sanitation, overcrowding, lack of access to health and social services, and malnutrition create conditions for diseases to spread faster and further. The world must address inequitable health and socio-economic vulnerabilities far in advance of the next crisis.

In its Everyone Counts report–which surveyed National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies from nearly every country in the world–the IFRC found that teams were able to quickly respond to the pandemic because they were already present in communities and many of them had engaged in preparedness efforts, had prior experience responding to epidemics, and were strong auxiliaries to their local authorities.

“Community-based organizations are an integral part of pandemic preparedness and response. Local actors and communities, as frontline responders, have distinct but equally important roles to play in all phases of disease outbreak management. Their local knowledge needs to be leveraged for greater trust, access, and resilience,” states Mr. Chapagain.

“It has been a brutal three years, but we are releasing this research and making recommendations in an act of hope: The global community can learn lessons and do justice to this tragedy by being better prepared for future health emergencies.”

The World Disasters Report offers six essential actions to prepare more effectively for future public health emergencies. The Everyone Counts Report highlights the need for accurate and relevant data in pandemic preparedness and response. Both are available to practitioners, leaders, and the public.

According to WHO, 43% of all COVID-19 related deaths worldwide have occurred in the Americas, with the Latin America and Caribbean region having the highest number of deaths per million inhabitants on average: 3,000 deaths per million.

Since the onset of the pandemic, the IFRC network in the Caribbean has conducted several activities in response to the pandemic including risk communication, community engagement, health and hygiene promotion, water and sanitation, and food and cash assistance. Local Red Cross teams will continue to work as auxiliaries to the authorities, promoting equitable access to vaccines and activities to build vaccine confidence, socio-economic recovery efforts for the most vulnerable, and placing communities at the center of its actions through locally led humanitarian support.

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CCJ orders bank to repay customer money transferred from its account without authorisation

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Caribbean News Service

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on Tuesday ordered the Belize-based Caye International Bank Limited to repay more than US$170,000 to the Panama-based Rosemore International Corporation after dismissing an appeal by the bank.

The five-member CCJ panel of judges in a ruling read out by Justice Andrew Burgess, held that Caye Bank breached its care of duty to Rosemore and that it ought to have contacted the company given the red flags that had been raised during the transaction.

Rosemore, a customer of Caye Bank, had successfully sued the bank in the High Court of Belize to recover money deducted from its account without its authorisation or consent.

Caye Bank, is an international bank, operating in Belize and providing online funds transfer services to its customers. Rosemore, is a company registered in Panama, and was one of Caye Bank’s online banking customers in accordance with a Depository Agreement and an Indemnity Agreement between the two.

Caye Bank offered Rosemore, as it did for all its customers, the use of its secure online banking portal to conduct online transactions and gave it two sets of unique credentials to access the online banking portal known only to Rosemore.

The dispute arose over the sum of US$175,000 which Caye Bank transferred on April 23, 2015 from Rosemore’s account into an account located in Canada.

At the time when the funds were transferred, Caye Bank believed that the transfer was on the instruction of Rosemore. In fact, the instruction was sent via a compromised email account, to which the fraudster had gained access and he sent a message that appeared to be a legitimate request from Rosemore.

When Rosemore discovered the fraud, it notified Caye Bank, but the bank refused liability for the transaction, claiming it had properly processed the transaction.

On March 30, 2016, Rosemore sued Caye Bank and the fraudster claiming damages for breach by Caye Bank of the express and implied terms of the Depository Agreement and in the alternative, damages for negligence by Caye Bank, its agents and/or servants.

The fraudster took no steps in the proceeding and a default judgment was entered against him.

However, the claim continued against Caye Bank and the High Court gave judgment for Rosemore, holding that Caye Bank had breached its express and implied duties to Rosemore to exercise reasonable skill and care. Caye Bank appealed to the Court of Appeal, which upheld the judgment of the High Court.

On February15 last year, Caye Bank appealed the decision of the Court of Appeal to the CCJ, which reviewed the verification clause of the Depository Agreement and found that there was no evidence that Caye Bank did not properly follow the verification and identification process contemplated by that clause.

Nevertheless, the CCJ decided that Caye Bank was subject to ‘the Quincecare duty’, an implied term which imposed a negative duty to refrain from executing a customer’s order if the bank was ‘put on inquiry’ that its customer may be subject to a fraud; and a positive duty to do something more than simply not comply with a payment instruction.

The CCJ found that Caye Bank was put on inquiry as there were several red flags including the substantial amount requested to be transferred was suspicious given that the history of the account showed that there had been only one insubstantial withdrawal in the amount of US$1,915.76 in 2012.

In addition, the CCJ found that the request came from an address which was not the domain address on record for Rosemore; and there were observable differences between the signature on the wire transfer request form and the authorised signature.

“Given the red flags a senior official from Caye Bank ought to have contacted Rosemore to verify the transaction, which was not done. The Court, therefore, held that Caye Bank breached its Quincecare duty to Rosemore,” the CCJ said, ordering Caye International Bank Ltd also to pay costs.

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Prosecution in Suriname wants ex-president Desi Bouterse jailed for 1982 killings

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Caribbean News Service

The Public Prosecution Service in Suriname Tuesday demanded that former president and military strongman, Desi Bouterse, be jailed for 20 years for complicity in the murder of 15 men on December 8, 1982.

Acting Attorney General, Carmen Rasam, said that Bouterse must be held responsible for the murders and that enough evidence had been provided during the trial.

Bouterse had been sentenced to 20 years in jail for his involvement in the murders of political opponents by his then-military government.

In August 2021, the Court Martial of Suriname upheld the 2019 military court ruling of a 20-year jail term on Bouterse following a trial that had been going on for several years.

In 2017, Bouterse along with 23 co-defendants had appeared in the Military Court after the Court of Justice had earlier rejected a motion to stop the trial.

The former military officers and civilians had been charged with the December 8, 1982, murders of the 15 men that included journalists, military officers, union leaders, lawyers, businessmen, and university lecturers.

The prosecution had alleged that the men were arrested on the nights of December 7 and 8 and transferred to Fort Zeelandia, the then headquarters of the Surinamese National Army.

They said the men were tortured and summarily executed.

Earlier this month, attorney Irvin Kanhai, who is also representing Iwan Dijksteel, Stephanus Dendoe, Benny Brondenstein and Ernst Geffery, challenged the objectivity of the military judge, Colonel Dennis Kamperveen, claiming that one of the victims, Andr? Kamperveen and the judge, have a common grandfather.

The men are challenging their 10-year jail term.

But, the Public Prosecution Service argued that it had no need to hear witnesses during the appeal process, reiterating its call for Bouterse, 77, who led Suriname during the 1980s as head of a military government and de facto leader, to be arrested and given his unconditional prison sentence.

Bouterse took office as president in 2010, following a democratic election and was elected for another term in 2015.

During the trial by the court-martial, the military judge said that Bouterse had acted as God and decided about life and death.

But, Bouterse had argued during the trial that he was not present at the fort when the men were shot.

Before the start of the hearing on Tuesday, Bouterse said that he is not concerned about the matter, telling reporters he had “other things” on his mind that is giving him a headache, including the current situation in the country.

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Jamaica willing to send police, soldiers to Haiti to help restore peace

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Caribbean News Service

Prime Minister Andrew Holness has signalled that Jamaica would be willing to participate in a multinational security team that could be deployed to Haiti to assist in efforts to restore stability to the country torn by gang violence.

In a parliamentary statement on Tuesday, the prime minister said he has already alerted the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) and the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) about the possibility of such aid.

“Both the JDF and the JCF have been alerted to this possible course of support and they would have started to plan for such eventualities as part of their routine situational awareness and response awareness,” Holness said.

He said that the country reaffirms its commitment to working with CARICOM and bilateral partners such as Canada, the United States and the wider international community towards achieving sustainable solutions for the situation in Haiti.

The prime minister noted that Jamaica and Haiti have enjoyed longstanding good relations and partnerships as neighbours.

Holness said that the Government and Jamaicans, in general, are deeply concerned about the humanitarian and security crisis being faced by the people of Haiti.

“The people of Haiti continue to have their human rights threatened by powerful gangs and militias which carry out heinous crimes, including murder, kidnappings and violence against women and children.”

Holness also condemned the killing of more than a dozen police officers by criminal gangs in Haiti.

In his comments Leader of the Opposition Mark Golding said that it was in Jamaica’s interest that Haiti be restored to a functional democratic system of government.

He said that the security within Haiti and its borders should be put on a footing where criminal elements don’t hold sway.

Golding said he supported the Government’s efforts to assist in trying to restore peace to the country crippled by gang violence.

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IICA Director General endorses Brazil’s bid to host COP30 in the Amazonian city of Belem

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Caribbean News Service

On a visit to Brazil, Manuel Otero, Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), conveyed the hemispheric organization’s full support for the candidacy of Brazil’s Amazonian city, Belem, as the venue of COP30.

In meetings with Brazilian ministers and high-level authorities, Otero also expressed solidarity with and support for assistance to the Yanomami indigenous community, which has been experiencing increased deaths due to malnutrition and malaria in the remote northern areas of the country.

Otero met in Brasilia with the new ministers of Agriculture; Agrarian Development; Social Development; Finance; Science and Technology; and Integration and Regional Development, as well as with the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Deputy Minister of the Environment. In all of these discussions, he laid the foundation for increased collaboration between the specialized organization for agricultural and rural development and the new government of Brazil.

The IICA Director General addressed various issues during the meetings with the eight ministries, including natural resource conservation; the strengthening of national science and innovation systems to boost production, while reducing the impact on the environment; the empowerment of rural communities; the critical balance between productivity and the environment; and a new generation of public policies with a gender perspective.

Accompanied by the local IICA Representative, Gabriel Delgado, Otero met for the first time with Brazil’s new Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Carlos F?varo, with whom he discussed deepening the collaboration between the Institute and the new government of President Luiz In?cio Lula da Silva, by strengthening the Brazilian agribusiness profile, with an emphasis on environmental aspects.

Also discussed were issues such as the restoration of degraded pastures under the ABC Plus program, as well as new opportunities and cooperation initiatives.

Otero remarked that, “We believe that this new Brazilian administration is extremely receptive to IICA’s work–considering our hemispheric, regional and local dimensions, and our future projection–and we are confident that these different facets offer tremendous opportunities to support the proposed agenda of the new government of Brazil”.

“We see this government as one that is determined to restore the image of a country committed to sustainable development, social inclusion, environmental protection and international cooperation – a model in which agriculture must play a fundamental role”, he added.

The IICA Director General and his Special Advisor, Jorge Werthein, in meeting with the Minister of Social Development, Wellington Dias, spoke about international experiences that would be useful for a country of Brazil’s size and about food assistance programs to contribute to reducing high levels of hunger and food insecurity in this, the largest country in Latin America.

At the end of the meeting, Minister Dias remarked that, “Brazil and the Ministry of Social Development consider IICA to be an important partner, in this instance, focusing on the area of agriculture, evaluation, monitoring and support. IICA is also partnering with other ministries. We must all work together to access research and information and to undertake initiatives that will create an impact, for example, the installation of water tanks. We must collaborate at the State and the community level, integrating social, environmental and economic aspects. President Lula wants to adopt this approach to ensure that we can produce good results”.

On the other hand, Otero maintained that, “IICA pledges its support for the work of the Ministry of Social Development and for the administration of President Lula. Without water, there is no agriculture and without agriculture, there can be no sustainable development. Also, we must always seek to ensure a greater role for vulnerable groups in rural areas. That is why we are launching a project with Minister Dias”.

He also expressed concern about the situation of the Yanomami people, in the state of Roraima, bordering Venezuela and Guyana. An increase in malnutrition- and malaria-related deaths on the Yanomami reserve has prompted the Brazilian government to declare a health emergency in this northern district.

The Minister of Agrarian Development, Paulo Teixeira, and his team, met with Otero at the restructured ministry, to which IICA will provide support in institutional development. The conversation stressed the importance of family farmers and vulnerable groups in the transition towards more environmentally friendly agriculture; and discussed the possible role of the Institute as a major sounding board at the hemispheric level to drive a new generation of public policies to empower these sectors. They also spoke about building bridges with other nations.

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