Thursday, August 19th 2004
EXCERPT
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States is set to establish a permanent office in Trinidad and Tobago before the end of the month, but the Government and head of the police have said they know nothing about it.
The US Embassy in Port of Spain yesterday confirmed that an FBI Special Agent is already in the country setting up the operations.
The search for a top Al Qaeda terrorist suspect, Adnan El Shukrijumah, who lived in Trinidad and Tobago after the search began for him in 2003, is one of the reasons for the establishment of the FBI office here.
Public Affairs officer at the US Embassy Robert Skinner said the special agent-or legal attache, as he will be called-is establishing the FBI's operation in the US Embassy on Marli Street.
The FBI's base will operate as a sub-office of the regional office, which operates out of Caracas, Venezuela.
It will service Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname and Guyana, where El Shukrijumah is believed to have been hiding. Skinner said the FBI office here will focus on exchanging information on criminal activity between the United States and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as with the other two countries.
He said the FBI will be involved in training law enforcement officers to better fight crime and terrorism. Although he has not given an exact date for the start-up of operations, he has confirmed that some work is already taking place.
This will be the 53rd FBI office, or legat, in a foreign country. According to the FBI's website, the Bureau believes "it is essential to station highly skilled special agents in other countries to help prevent terrorism and crime from reaching across borders and harming Americans in their homes and workplaces".