The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

ATTORNEY General Wayne Munroe yesterday defended the Davis administration’s complaint over undercover US Drug Enforcement Administration agents operating in The Bahamas, saying American authorities would not accept Bahamian officers conducting similar operations on US soil without involving local law enforcement.

Mr Munroe said every country has laws and procedures that must be respected and suggested there was no reason for US officials to be “overly defensive” about the government raising concerns with the US Justice Department.

“We're a small country, and you know, all we say is just as it would say we can't go and do that in the US,” he said. “We can't go and do that in Turks and Caicos. We can't go and do that in Jamaica without reference to their police resources. That's all it said.”

His defence came after US Ambassador Herschel Walker sharply rebuked Bahamian officials over their complaint, dismissing claims that undercover DEA agents operated illegally in the country as “fake news” and questioning why officials were concerned that the United States “helped to arrest a known drug trafficker.”

The dispute stems from US court filings detailing a three-year undercover narcotics investigation in The Bahamas connected to the arrest of Jonathan Eric Gardiner.

Among the most striking allegations in the filings is that undercover DEA agents posing as members of a drug cartel met an unnamed Bahamian politician inside Parliament in October 2024 to discuss a proposed cocaine transhipment operation through The Bahamas.

Bahamas Ambassador to the United States Wendall Jones has confirmed meeting US Justice Department officials to express concerns over what the government believes were “rogue” DEA operators acting on Bahamian soil.

Mr Jones accused undercover US agents of operating outside treaties and longstanding arrangements governing law enforcement cooperation between the two countries.

Mr Munroe said yesterday that coordination between Bahamian and foreign law enforcement produces more effective results because local officers have knowledge that outsiders may not possess.

He said informing Bahamian authorities could also prevent an undercover DEA agent involved in an apparent drug transaction from being arrested or charged by police unaware of the operation.

“So that is why you don't operate without reference to local law enforcement,” Mr Munroe said, “but nothing affects our working relationship with them.”

He also rejected suggestions that the undercover operation demonstrated a lack of confidence by US authorities in the Bahamian government, saying the country’s drug enforcement officers are vetted, experienced and subjected to polygraph testing. However, the reliability of polygraph testing is disputed, with the American Psychological Association saying scientific evidence does not support it as a reliably accurate method of detecting deception.

Asked about perceptions that the government was trying to hide something, Mr Munroe responded: “Trying to hide what?”

He pointed to arrests and drug seizures since the Davis administration took office and said the government did not want The Bahamas used as a transhipment point for drugs destined for the United States.

“We do not want our country to be used as a transhipment point to feed the drug habit of the American public that consumes the drug,” he said. “We do not want that.”

Mr Walker, meanwhile, has urged the Davis administration to “do the hard work” of combating corruption and continue cooperating with the United States to stop the illicit flow of drugs through the region.

Mr Munroe welcomed the call but said corruption associated with the drug trade also exists in the United States.

“The same things that can be said about corruption in The Bahamas can be mirrored about corruption in the US because it's received there,” he said, “so we would be receptive to whatever steps the US takes to battle that sort of corruption on their soil.”

“So, if there's corruption that permits it to be transhipped through our country, then there must be corruption that permits it to land in the US, aye?”

Mr Munroe said he did not doubt that US authorities had taken measures to combat corruption. He also said Bahamian law enforcement agencies have benefited from US training over the years and would welcome further anti-corruption initiatives.

The escalating dispute drew criticism yesterday from the Free National Movement, with chairman Dr Duane Sands calling the government’s actions “bizarre” and party leader Michael Pintard questioning: “Who are they protecting?”

Dr Sands said he found it strange that the government would send a delegation to the United States “not to thank the US for pointing out nefarious activity on our shores, but to stand on ceremony about whether or not they had jurisdiction.”

He said the meeting raised questions about Gardiner’s political connections, including his ability to secure government contracts, whether senior members of the Davis administration supported that, and whether his relationship with the Progressive Liberal Party influenced the government’s decision to raise concerns about the DEA operation.

“We have seen explicit evidence that our government has done business with convicted drug traffickers, giving crown land,” Dr Sands said. “So you know, skip the protest.”

“Clean up the place and then maybe we wouldn't have these kinds of headlines. Are we a nation for sale again?”

Dr Sands said he had no faith that the government would improve its handling of such matters, describing the Davis administration as the “least transparent administration” in the country’s history.