Almost six months after the beating of an American journalist outside the Carmichael Road Detention Centre, the Bahamas Government has yet to provide a ļ¾ promised “in-depth report” into the case, a lawyer representing Spanish Channel Univision revealed yesterday.
“It has been months since we received any feedback,” Florida Consul Mikki Canton of the law firm of Gunster and Yoakley said.
However, she said, she spoke to Bahamas Vice Consul Arnold Whylly, who was supposed to give her an update on the case in a couple of days. He made that promise about two weeks ago, she said, but nothing – has been heard since.
Mrs Canton has been awaiting the follow-up from Mr Whylly, who is stationed at the Bahamas Consulate in Miami. In her original conversation with him she reported that he was very cooperative.
Mr Whylly, who has been the law firm’s contact person for the past few months, is expected to launch an internal investigation to find out if anything has moved along with the investigations.
The last time Univision had any contact with the Bahamas Government was during the initial meeting in Miami in February immediately following the incident, when a government representative was being interviewed. During that meeting Consul General Alma Adams, Mr Whylly and several government officials were present.
At the conclusion of that meeting Mrs Canton was given the impression that she would have some information by this time. On February 7, Mario Vallejo, a newscaster with Univision, was beaten by a Defence Force officer while filming a Cuban family reunion outside the Carmichael Road Detention Centre.
Vallejo was covering the reunion of seven Cubans rescued several weeks ago at Elbow Cay and their relatives who flew in from Miami to meet them. Mr Vallejo was hit in the face with a baton while using the public telephone outside the Centre, and dragged into the facility.
General Manager of Univision wrote a letter of complaint to the Bahamas Government and the American Ambassador asking for a full investigation into the beating of their staff member. According to Mrs Canton, so far government has submitted no report.
By KRYSTEL ROLLE, The Tribune
