The Bahamas Consulate in Miami yesterday received a bomb threat in the wake of Tuesday’s alleged attack on an American reporter by Bahamian Defence Force officers.
Mario Vallejo, a reporter with Univision – a South Florida Spanish-language news channel – was taken to hospital after, according to witnesses, being hit in the face with a baton while he was using a pay phone outside the Carmichael Detention Centre. Seven stitches were necessary to close his wounds.
According to Oscar Corral of The Miami Herald “an ambulance finally came for Vallejo and rushed him to the airport, where he caught the first available flight to Miami. He was treated at Kendall hospital,”
said Telemundo reporter Alberto Tavares, who witnessed the beating.
Mr Vallejo was covering the reunion between seven Cubans rescued last week from Elbow Cay and their Miami relatives who flew to New Providence.
His cameraman, Osvaldo Duarte, was arrested, along with Telemundo reporter and cameraman Lazaro Obreu. The men were eventually released.
According to Corral’s report, Mr Duarte, who filmed the episode from inside a taxi, left his equipment in the taxi when he was detained. Mr Vallejo said Mr Duarte recovered his equipment later that night after being released.
“Everyone there saw it,” Mr Tavares said. “I saw him hit the ground (Vallejo), and he tried to get up, but the guard squashed him. What happened to Mario was very, very violent.”
Bahamas Consulate General Alma Adams said that around 9:45 am yesterday the receptionist at the Consulate received a call from a female advising that “we will put a bomb in the building today.” It so happened that three Miami police officers were already in meetings with Ms Adams and the information was passed onto them.
“They took that matter very seriously and brought in another team of investigators to investigate it and that investigation is persistently ongoing,” she said.
When asked if she felt that there was any serious threat to the safety of the consulate she said that any time there is a demonstration there is a threat.
“When situations such as what occurred at the detention centre takes place and due to one or two things that happened when we were here at the office, I took precautionary measures to ensure that I met with the police first thing yesterday morning to ensure the safety of the Bahamas Consulate and our staff,” Ms Adams said.
No one has been arrested as yet for the bomb threat call. Demonstrations, in which 25 persons participated, started Wednesday.
Ms Adams said she was informed that the demonstration will continue for an hour each day between 12:30pm and 1:30 pm and may continue until February 15.
On Wednesday three US Congressmen sent letters to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and US Ambassador John Rood requesting an investigation into the beating of Mr Vallejo at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre on Tuesday.
The letters sent to The Tribune from the office of US Congress Member Ileana RosLehtinen expressed concern over the incident and called for Secretary Rice and Ambassador Rood to ensure that the “perpetrators of this violence be held accountable for their actions.”
“We have received information regarding the detainment and aggression against several members of our community’s local media who travelled from Miami to the Bahamas following the story of several Cuban nationals detained in the Bahamas.
“We have been informed that the group of reporters travelled to the Bahamas to film and obtain information regarding several Cuban refugees that are currently detained on the island. We understand that while they were filming the detention centre they were attacked and injured by several guards at the facility, some have been admitted to a hospital for emergency treatment while others were taken into custody.
“We are respectfully requesting that you investigate this situation and ensure the safety of all these members of the media. We also ask that the detainees be given humane treatment and that perpetrators of this violence be held accountable for their actions,” the letters read.
Charge d’Affaires at the US Embassy Dr Brent Hardt said that Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell has assured US officials that the Bahamas has launched a thorough investigation into Tuesday’s incident.
He said embassy officials have indicated this to Congress members and will advise them in due course on the results of the Bahamian investigation.
Dr Hardt added that the US will not launch an independent investigation into the matter.
Source: The Tribune
