The Obama administration is vexed that "mutual respect" and "honest engagement" have failed to persuade Jamaica to extradite an alleged drug kingpin.
It should have been a routine extradition request between countries with friendly relations. Six months ago, the United States asked Jamaica to extradite an alleged drug lord and arms trafficker based in Kingston, the capital. The alleged crime boss, Christopher Michael Coke, 40, is regarded by the U.S. Department of Justice as one of the world's "most dangerous narcotics kingpins."
Coke -- also known as "General," "President," "Duddus," and "Shortman" -- is as well-known to Jamaicans as was crime boss John Gotti to New Yorkers. Ostensibly, Coke is a legitimate businessman. But according to an indictment (read it here) unsealed last August by the U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York, Coke has since the early 1990s led an international crime ring called the "Shower Posse." The group distributes cocaine, marijuana, and crack in New York City and elsewhere while smuggling arms back to Jamaica, according to the indictment, which cites intercepted phone conversations and other evidence.
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