WAYNE MUNORE PUTS IT ALL IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN
There has been a spirited debate in the press of the country over the past week ever since the photo of the meeting that took place between the U S officials and their Justice Department in Washington D.C. on 18 September 2026 with Ambassador Wendall Jones and an assistant commissioner of police and the head of the intelligence agency of The Bahamas. The FNM has been making a meal out of it, saying that the PLP is trying to protect criminals. They say this even as they claim that they are opposed to foreign agents working in The Bahamas without the permission of the government. Wayne Munroe the Attorney General was questioned about the matter and here is what The Tribune said that he said in answer to it. Thea article was written by Leandra Rolle and published on 25 September 2026:
Mr. Munroe said every country has laws and procedures that must be respected and suggested there was no reason for US officials to be “overly defensive” about the government raising concerns with the US Justice Department.
“We’re a small country, and you know, all we say is just as it would say we can’t go and do that in the US,” he said. “We can’t go and do that in Turks and Caicos. We can’t go and do that in Jamaica without reference to their police resources. That’s all it said.”
His defence came after US Ambassador Herschel Walker sharply rebuked Bahamian officials over their complaint, dismissing claims that undercover DEA agents operated illegally in the country as “fake news” and questioning why officials were concerned that the United States “helped to arrest a known drug trafficker.”
The dispute stems from US court filings detailing a three-year undercover narcotics investigation in The Bahamas connected to the arrest of Jonathan Eric Gardiner.
Among the most striking allegations in the filings is that undercover DEA agents posing as members of a drug cartel met an unnamed Bahamian politician inside Parliament in October 2024 to discuss a proposed cocaine transhipment operation through The Bahamas.
Bahamas Ambassador to the United States Wendall Jones has confirmed meeting US Justice Department officials to express concerns over what the government believes were “rogue” DEA operators acting on Bahamian soil.
Mr Jones accused undercover US agents of operating outside treaties and longstanding arrangements governing law enforcement cooperation between the two countries.
Mr Munroe said yesterday that coordination between Bahamian and foreign law enforcement produces more effective results because local officers have knowledge that outsiders may not possess.
He said informing Bahamian authorities could also prevent an undercover DEA agent involved in an apparent drug transaction from being arrested or charged by police unaware of the operation.
“So that is why you don’t operate without reference to local law enforcement,” Mr Munroe said, “but nothing affects our working relationship with them.”
He also rejected suggestions that the undercover operation demonstrated a lack of confidence by US authorities in the Bahamian government, saying the country’s drug enforcement officers are vetted, experienced and subjected to polygraph testing. However, the reliability of polygraph testing is disputed, with the American Psychological Association saying scientific evidence does not support it as a reliably accurate method of detecting deception.
Asked about perceptions that the government was trying to hide something, Mr Munroe responded: “Trying to hide what?”
He pointed to arrests and drug seizures since the Davis administration took office and said the government did not want The Bahamas used as a transhipment point for drugs destined for the United States.
“We do not want our country to be used as a transhipment point to feed the drug habit of the American public that consumes the drug,” he said. “We do not want that.”
Mr Walker, meanwhile, has urged the Davis administration to “do the hard work” of combating corruption and continue cooperating with the United States to stop the illicit flow of drugs through the region.
Mr Munroe welcomed the call but said corruption associated with the drug trade also exists in the United States.
“The same things that can be said about corruption in The Bahamas can be mirrored about corruption in the US because it’s received there,” he said, “so we would be receptive to whatever steps the US takes to battle that sort of corruption on their soil.”
“So, if there’s corruption that permits it to be transhipped through our country, then there must be corruption that permits it to land in the US, aye?”
Mr Munroe said he did not doubt that US authorities had taken measures to combat corruption. He also said Bahamian law enforcement agencies have benefited from US training over the years and would welcome further anti-corruption initiatives.
The escalating dispute drew criticism yesterday from the Free National Movement, with chairman