“We would want to reaffirm our position that the US government or its military did not participate in the operations in West Kingston,’’ he said.
His statement came a day after Minister of National Security Dwight Nelson said at a news briefing that the United States had not provided any surveillance of the raid, denying a report in The New Yorker magazine.
Holness said that Nelson made the statement in error because Nelson was not aware of the details of the US assistance.
Previous government statements had also denied any US role in the operation. The prime minister said the surveillance was coordinated between the Jamaican Defense Force and the “relevant government agency’’ in the United States.
“The United States government initially made an offer to provide surveillance and technical equipment,’’ he said. “We accepted and followed the normal protocol of exchanging diplomatic notes to provide the government-to-government cover for such assistance.’’
Ocsar Derby, director of Jamaica’s Civil Aviation Authority, said yesterday that officials with the island’s Defense Force had advised him the US craft would conduct a surveillance mission.
