The Government still has not received any information from the US authorities about a recent Reuters report which claimed Daryan Warner, son of National Security Minister Jack Warner, was helping the FBI/IRS with an investigation, according to both Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran.
The Reuters report claimed FBI sources had said the younger Warner had been co-operating with the FBI on in a probe into alleged corruption in international soccer.Following the report, Government had sought clarification from US authorities.But on Saturday night after she arrived at Piarco International Airport, after a week-long trip to the US, Persad-Bissessar said they still had no word on the matter. She said Attorney General Anand Ramlogan, who had also sought a response from the US, had not received a reply.
Ramlogan himself was due home from South Africa yesterday, she said.The PM, however, said diplomatic relations with the US continue to be good. She said she was warmly received in the US and during her trip, where the Government received a gift of scanners from the US government. The Government will now pay for the scanner to be refurbished and shipped home, she added.
"(So) I see no angst with respect to diplomatic relations with the US," she added.Noting US authorities' quick response to tracking down suspects in last Monday's Boston Marathon bombing, Persad-Bissessar said she was very impressed."That's something we have to learn a lesson from and why we're moving aggressively to get CCTV cameras," the PM said.She said she will report on her meetings with the IDB and US State Department officials later on.
Also addressing the issue at the airport, Dookeran said the report made certain allegations which border on law enforcement. "When we contacted the US State Department they indicated they were not free to comment on any matter that bordered on law enforcement," he said.A small group of ministers–minus Warner–were on hand to welcome her, including Dookeran, Roodal Moonilal, Chandresh Sharma, Ganga Singh, Clifton de Coteau and COP's Lincoln Douglas.