US concerned that the Govt was captured by dons

Has the Jamaican government been captured by dons?

That was the suggestion made just over a year ago by the American embassy in Kingston, as the Christopher "Dudus" Coke extradition issue dragged on.

In a January, 2010 cable transmission to Washington, the US Embassy spoke of what it characterised as the Golding administration's troubling recent recalcitrance in granting U.S. extradition requests.

In the cable posted by the whistle blower organisation, Wikileaks, the US embassy said the delay suggested a lack of seriousness in addressing Jamaica's crime problems, or even the possibility that garrison dons and criminal elements might have "captured" the Government of Jamaica.

The US embassy comments came at a time when it observed that the Golding administration had been enjoying a rare period of policy successes and high international profile.

This was in the wake of the earthquake in Haiti, which Prime Minister Golding and his government responded to quickly and played a regional coordinating role.

In addition, the cable noted the brief stop-over visit by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Norman Manley International Airport where she met with Mr. Golding.

The policy successes noted in the US embassy transmission included the IMF loan agreement, the takeover of Air Jamaica by Caribbean Airlines and the Jamaica Debt Exchange programme which brought relief for the government's domestic debt burden.

Given the continued problems in bilateral relations between Kingston and Washington however the American representatives in Jamaica maintained some skepticism about the country's economic well-being and the crime situation.

That transmission was before the May 2010 confrontation in West Kingston between the security forces and gunmen loyal to Christopher "Dudus" Coke.

Coke was subsequently captured and extradited to the U.S. and the country's crime rate, including murder, has gone down significantly.