US looks to Jamaica for help
Published:Wednesday | June 15, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Worried about a 2009 decision by the government of Haiti to remove the visa requirements for Chinese visitors to the island, the United States turned to the government of Jamaica for help.
A diplomatic cable, dated November 2009, from the US Embassy in Kingston, outlined the concerns of the Americans and their request to Jamaica.
According to the cable, Embassy officials told Jamaican authorities that they were concerned that "the Government of Haiti's removal of tourist-visa requirements, for nationals of the People's Republic of China, would lead to increases in alien smuggling and human trafficking networks".
The cable added that the US government was concerned that the Haitian decision could, "encourage intending immigrants from China to use Haiti in attempts to enter the US illegally".
no identifiable changes
The Embassy requested assistance from the Government of Jamaica to monitor the transit of Chinese nationals and other suspect travellers en route to Haiti.
The cable said while local officials were unaware of the change in visa requirements by the Haitian government, they had detected, no identifiable changes in movements of Chinese nationals through Jamaica.
"Embassy official was assured (by Jamaican authorities) that any changes in Chinese travel trends would be shared with the US Embassy," the cable concluded.