The Tribune

By DANA SMITH

Tribune Staff Reporter

dsmith@tribunemedia.net

FOLLOWING weeks of controversy sparked by claims of beatings and abuse at the Detention Centre, a Bahamian delegation flew into Cuba yesterday afternoon to discuss a plan for quicker repatriation of illegal Cuban migrants.

Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell confirmed that Defence Force Commodore Roderick Bowe and Permanent Secretary Philip Miller are heading that delegation as part of a Cabinet-approved initiative.

“Part of the issue here is that people are simply in these detention facilities for too long,” Mr Mitchell said. “You know, of course, that we are doing work to improve and upgrade the facility so that there aren’t these allegations of the actual conditions, themselves, arising.”

He was speaking at the Lynden Pindling International Airport’s VIP Lounge where he said a “specific” item being discussed in Cuba will be terms of a prior repatriation deal that was never finalised.

“In 1998, the then government signed a protocol with the Cuban government which would have allowed the direct repatriation, in a short space of time, for Cuban migrants found in this country back to Cuba,” Mr Mitchell said.

“There was some modalities that were supposed to be settled as to how that should be done, who are the agencies, what are the executing forms and all the rest of that – that was never done, from 1998 to the present. We discovered that recently and we indicated to them that’s what we’d like to do. We’d like to get that set up.”

Mr Mitchell said he plans to have discussions, “directly,” with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, in Grenada, during the course of the week.

He also said yesterday he had a “very successful and fruitful mission” in the United States, last week, where he visited offices in New York, Washington, Atlanta, and Miami, and met with officials at the US State Department.

“At each stop, I took the opportunity to apprise the staff of the changes in our diplomatic missions and the new leadership there. I introduced the new Ambassadors to their respective staffs. I also thanked them for their support of the Government and its work over the past one year and half since we have been back in office. I am happy to report that the patriotism and love of our country remains strong among them.”