ABOVE IS THE VIDEO WHICH ALLEGES ABUSE AGAINST CUBAN NATIONALS

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Staff Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

MINISTER of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell yesterday confirmed that a South Florida news report depicting abuse against Cuban nationals at the detention centre was staged.

However, the Miami-based news network America TeVe has maintained that the cellphone footage aired on Friday was taken by Cuban immigrants still in detention.

According to Mr Mitchell, the government is considering legal action over the news report, which was also posted on YouTube.

Mr Mitchell said: “This appears to be a manufactured attempt to create a damaging and defamatory impression of The Bahamas. The television station ought to be ashamed of itself for publishing something which is so patently false. It is irresponsible of them to publish it knowing the passions that these matters can inflame.”

He added: “That video is a complete falsehood and an outrageous concoction.”

The video entitled “Exclusiva: golpiza contra cubanos en centro de detención de Bahamas” – translated as “Exclusive: Cuban beating at detention centre in Bahamas” - was posted to YouTube by user AmericaTeVeCanal41.

In the video, four men are seen lying on the floor with their backs turned. The legs of another person clad in green pants and boots can be seen walking back and forth between the men, shouting insults and kicking them.

Also shown are pictures of men with bruised bodies, and a video clip of someone wiping a man’s bloodied face.

A translation of one of the persons in the video says: “We’re going to show this to the whole world so they can see what these faggots do in the Bahamas.”

Another person said: “They put a bag over his head, kicked him, broke his arm.”

The video had 5,060 views on YouTube yesterday, with 39 comments.

Cuban Ambassador Ernesto Guzmán said that while he could not speak to the veracity of the news report, the Cuban embassy had not received any reports of abuse.

In an interview with The Tribune yesterday, Mr Guzmán said he spoke with Cuban nationals at the detention centre last Wednesday.

A full investigation has been launched by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, according to Mr Mitchell, who challenged the authenticity of the report. Based on observations made by the RBDF, Mr Mitchell said that the accent of alleged abusers was not Bahamian; the rooms shown did not match the Detention Centre; and no faces were shown.

Mr Mitchell said: “It remains to be said that the Bahamas government does not beat those in its custody. All detainees are treated with respect and in accordance with all applicable conventions and with human dignity and courtesy. The laws of The Bahamas are however enforced and those who come to The Bahamas unlawfully will be repatriated back to their home countries once all legal avenues of redress on their part have been addressed.

He added: “Any detainee who has a complaint has avenues in law and in fact to address any grievance that he or she may have.

According to an America Teve spokesperson, the alleged detainees depicted in the video were still in custody.

The spokesperson said that the station has been unable to get a response from the Bahamas consulate in Miami.

“We tried to contact the Bahamas consulate (yesterday), but they haven’t responded,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added: “We don’t know the date when the video was taken, but we do know that the persons are still in custody.”