GOVERNMENT IS claiming the revocation of Wayne Chen’s United States (US) visa is not related to the ongoing tussle over the extradition of alleged drug lord Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke.
“The United States authorities have advised the foreign minister that there is no connection, and we have no reason to question the honesty of the statement conveyed by the US authorities to the foreign minister,” Golding told Parliament yesterday.
He was responding to a question posed by Central Manchester Member of Parliament Peter Bunting, who asked whether Chen’s visa was revoked because of the refusal to send Coke.
Chen, chairman of the Urban Development Corporation, found out that his visa was cancelled last week when he attempted to travel to the US.
He later sought the Government’s intervention as he attempted to find out the reasons for the revocation, as well as for him to be granted another visa.
Rumours have since swirled that several other public officials have had their visas revoked by the US. However, Golding told Parliament that he was not aware of any other persons who have had a similar experience to Chen’s.
The Dudus situation seems to have far reaping reprecussions, although this is been denied. It does not take a genius to figure it out, the US is getting back on prominent Jamaicans they believe has the power to put pressure on the Jamaican government to speed up the extradition of Dudus to the US, and they should be honest and straight-forward about it rather than hide behind diplomatic garbage.