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go through Time Domain Network Wireline staff
As we witness increasingly brazen acts of terrorist violence in today’s world, resulting in the death of a large number of innocent people across the globe, the world’s security agencies have been resolute in combating this scourge. Now, people are frustrated because their best efforts have been severely undermined by the blind “passport-for-money” behavior of the struggling economies in the Caribbean. CBS 60 Minutes Peter Vincent, who served as chief legal counsel for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement, noted: “In my opinion, the international community has built a very effective global security infrastructure to prevent terrorist attacks. I see these cash-for-citizenship programs as a huge hole in that security architecture.” He echoed the position of General John Kelly, who is expected to become the new head of the Department of Homeland Security, who stated in a briefing to the U.S. Senate Armed Forces Committee on March 12, 2015: “Regional economic citizenship programs provide a fast track to citizenship for foreigners… The concern is that these ‘cash-for-passports’ criminals, terrorists, or other bad actors could use these programs to gain freedom of movement, facilitate entry into the United States, or launder illicit proceeds.” Even more worrying for U.S. authorities is the practice adopted by the Dominican government of Roosevelt Skerrit, which issued diplomatic passports, often in exchange for large sums of cash. Vincent considers the issuance of diplomatic passports “an even greater security threat.” “Border officials in receiving countries almost always allow entry to people carrying diplomatic passports, even without a visa. In addition, border forces do not have the authority to search diplomats’ luggage as they would ordinary tourists. They simply wave them through,” he added.While the Dominica Citizenship by Investment Program does not fall into this category, the practice has continued unabated since 2003. In 2005, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit issued two diplomatic passports to Susan Oldie, valued at $400,000, which were used to finance the election that year and ensure her party’s re-election. Over time, Dominica diplomatic passports fell into the hands of a veritable bunch of assholes. Criminals, swindlers, money launderers, and at least one former Nazi . Chinese billionaire Wu Licheng is currently under arrest in the United States, awaiting trial in New York in May 2017 on charges including money laundering, for which he was first charged in 2003. Francesco Corallo, who briefly served as Dominican Ambassador to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), also holds a government-issued diplomatic passport. Local Dominican media reports that up to $2 million may have been paid for the privilege. He is awaiting extradition to Italy from the island of St. Maarten, where he was recently arrested. While these names are known, it is the unknown names that ostensibly keep U.S. security officials like Peter Vincent up at night. These individuals may have quietly obtained such passports for nefarious purposes and may be preparing to enter Europe or even the United States. The Dominican opposition United Workers Party (UWP) has long questioned the practice of issuing diplomatic passports. On 8 November 2006, during a parliamentary session, MP Norris Charles asked Prime Minister Skerrit to “list all persons who have been appointed as ambassadors, except those of Dominican descent…” The Prime Minister responded with the following names: David King Hsiu, David Ng (Lap Seng), Graeme Christopher Thomson, Claude Leon Martin Skalawski, Peter Cappeller, Susan Ann Shaheen Olde, Leroy Coleridge Paris and Eric Torner. Interestingly, on 19 October 2016, when Opposition Leader Lennox Linton asked a similar question in Parliament, defensive Foreign Minister Francine Barron stood up and stated that the Government could not make its foreign policy public, and as before flatly refused to give a list of “diplomats” in her response. “The government has generally never made the sensitive details of these appointments public outside of the countries where the personnel are posted. Effective foreign policy is never pursued in the media or in the public sphere. “ “While the government has no problem sharing the number of diplomatic appointments and positions, it remains opposed to revealing the details of all appointees in a forum that is essentially public and accessible to the whole world,” Barron added. Although she promised to provide the list to the opposition, this promise has not been fulfilled despite Linton’s repeated calls to her office. In the absence of facts, speculation abounds. Many in the Dominican Republic question why the government refuses to make this information public. After all, diplomats are the public face of the country, and what about Barron’s statement that “…accessible to the whole world.” Just from whom and what are these “diplomats” being protected? Some speculate that given the huge sums paid for the privilege, the buyers most likely requested anonymity as part of the transaction. Others secretly worry that some of those on this list, who are implicitly grateful to their governments for granting them anonymity, could use diplomatic passports to further exacerbate and undermine the world’s security architecture. In a world plagued by terrorism, this policy pursued by greedy and incompetent politicians should not in any way undermine world security. In fact, this “huge hole in security infrastructure” must be quickly closed.
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