Cablegate: Hurricane Anna Nicole Wreaks Havoc in the Bahamas

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DE RUEHBH #1711/01 3211920
ZNY CCCCC ZZH (CCY AD49EE47 MSI0069-695)
R 151515Z NOV 06 ZDS
FM AMEMBASSY NASSAU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3514
INFO RUEHBE/AMEMBASSY BELIZE 1318
RUEHWN/AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN 5486
RUEHGE/AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN 3585
RUEHKG/AMEMBASSY KINGSTON 8430
RUEHPU/AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE 3442
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C O N F I D E N T I A L NASSAU 001711

SIPDIS

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (REMOVAL OF SIPDIS CAPTION)

STATE FOR WHA/CAR RCBUDDEN, CA/OCS

EO 12958 DECL: 11/06/2016
TAGS BF, PGOV, PREL, CASC, SMIG
SUBJECT: HURRICANE ANNA NICOLE WREAKS HAVOC IN THE BAHAMAS

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission D. Brent Hardt for reasons 1.4(b ) and (d)

1. (C) SUMMARY: Several months into her Bahamian residency, American B-list celebrity and regular entertainment television fixture Anna Nicole Smith has changed the face of Bahamian politics. Not since Category 4 Hurricane Betsy made landfall in 1965 has one woman done as much damage in Nassau. Lying in disarray in her wake are Doctor's Hospital, the Coroner's Court, the Department of Immigration, local mega-lawyers Callenders and Co., formerly popular Minister of Immigration Shane Gibson, and possibly Prime Minister Christie's PLP government. At the eye of a series of scandals over her Bahamian residency application and the death of her son, Anna Nicole has inspired a revitalized Bahamian media to take aim at a system that too often rewards the privileged. Moreover, the titillating details of Anna Nicole's sordid affairs have enticed the Bahamian public to give renewed focus to government indiscretions. These shots have wounded the "people's party" PLP Government, which is responding by making changes, promising reform, and firing back in self-defense as elections approach. END SUMMARY.

Hurricane Anna Nicole Makes Nassau Landfall
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2. (SBU) On August 11, Anna Nicole Smith filed for legal residency in The Bahamas as a result of her alleged ownership of a local home, pursuant to local immigration law permitting residence for persons owning homes of $500,000 or more. In September, the application was granted and Anna Nicole allegedly provided a $10,000 check directly to Immigration Minister Gibson at a meeting at her home. According to Anna Nicole, Minister Gibson personally approved her residency permit on September 20. In response to concern over the timing of the approval -- residency approval typically takes years in the Bahamas -- Gibson and PM Christie sought to reassure the public. They said that Anna Nicole was treated as any other applicant, noting glibly that the Ministry of Immigration should not be criticized for "improved efficiencies in government for which it deserves praise."

3. (SBU) Gibson's protestations of distance with the matter were shattered by a prominent local law firm and a local gossip publication. Callenders and Co., the law firm that handled Anna's home purchase and residency application, said it delivered a $10,000 check from Anna Nicole directly to Gibson at Anna Nicole's residence, and that it communicated to Anna Nicole repeatedly on Minister Gibson's government cell phone. Additionally, it supported claims that Anna Nicole did not yet own the home that was the basis for the residency claim, an issue currently being litigated in Bahamian courts. At the same time, widely read local gossip rag "The Punch" carried a People Magazine photo of Gibson at Anna Nicole's September 28 commitment ceremony (not technically a legal wedding) to her attorney, Howard Stern -- held days after Gibson approved her residency application -- next to a photo of a Haitian sloop allegedly landing at the time of the wedding. It also republished Gibson's People Magazine quote about his strong personal relationship with Anna Nicole. Gibson reportedly visited Anna Nicole in the hospital following the birth of her child.

Minister Gibson on Life-Support
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4. (SBU) The resulting public furor over Gibson's favoritism has been strong. Before Anna Nicole came to Nassau, Minister of Immigration Gibson enjoyed strong public support as a result of his aggressive anti-immigrant policies. His midnight raids of Haitian communities and restriction of residency options for Haitians was widely applauded by a Bahamian public fearful of losing Bahamian opportunities to illegal immigrants. The Anna Nicole scandal has recast Gibson as puppet of the privileged rather than defender of the common people of The Bahamas.

5. (C) In response to the public outcry and mounting calls for Gibson's resignation, the Government promised a review of procedures in the Department of Immigration at the same time it fired back at Callenders and Co. for its role in the affair -- tactics that have brought criticism to others but have not helped turn the tide of public opinion. During a November meeting with Poloff, an opposition Free National Movement Cental Committee member gleefully reported polling in Gibson's parliament district foretold a clear FNM victory in coming elections. Local newspaper and radio feedback on Gibson has been brutal. Even in the normally friendly Bahama Journal, Christie and Gibson have been roasted and a poll of the Journal's largely PLP readership showed 90% disapproval with Government handling of Anna Nicole. At the heart of Gibson's problems are the fact that Anna Nicole received residency in a matter of days, when the process normally takes many months or years. His reported direct receipt of the $10,000 check for residency represents another flagrant violation of the normal process, leading to bitter denunciations of the whole process by which residency is granted to persons for buying property here.

Anna Nicole Kills the Coroner's Court
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6. (SBU) Gibson and the PLP have not been the only victims of Hurricane Anna Nicole. Following the death of her son in Nassau's Doctor's Hospital on September 10, international media descended upon Doctor's Hospital, which carefully guarded Anna Nicole's privacy in the face of heavy criticism. The quality of care at Doctor's came under fire for its treatment -- or more pointedly its complete lack of treatment -- of Anna Nicole's son while in Doctor's. For the record, Doctor's Hospital is regarded as the finest medical institution in the country and has enjoyed an excellent reputation among the expatriate community.

7. (SBU) The criticism of the hospital was nothing compared to the criticism of the Bahamas Coroner's Court. The Court, which served to review death cases and determine cause, was under heavy fire for its inability -- or unwillingness -- to provide a cause of death for Anna Nicole's son. It had yet to issue a statement when a US pathologist issued a report concluding that a toxic cocktail of drugs caused the death, leading to speculation that the government was protecting Anna Nicole from embarrassment by delaying its findings. Before the Coroner's Court concluded its inquest, the government disbanded the inefficient Court and fired the Coroner. Local legal professionals offer the move mixed reviews, agreeing that the Coroner's Court process was inefficient and needed review, but some worried that the Magistrate's Courts now handling inquest duties will be less open and even more inefficient. The Coroner's Court was originally created to speed up a process of making a legal determination for cause of death that could take years. The elimination of the court will literally affect every Bahamian citizen -- an effect caused by Anna Nicole and the bright lights of the international media.

Invigorated Media Takes on Government
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8. (SBU) In Anna Nicole's wide swath of destruction, one entity has flourished -- the Bahamian media. At Post's quarterly media reception in October, a newspaper editor gushed about the increase in sales on days when Anna Nicole coverage is featured. Those days are all too common, and the type of critical investigative work that has helped the Bahamian press during Anna Nicole's Bahamian residency carried over to other hard-hitting articles targeting lack of government transparency in housing contracts and related lack of a Freedom of Information Act. The public demand for information and exposure to international press have done Bahamian reporters tremendous good as they have taken off their kid gloves to hit hard at local leaders perceived as failing the public interest.

10. (C) COMMENT: Not since Wallace Simpson dethroned a King and came to Nassau has an American femme fatale so captivated the Bahamian public and dominated local politics. Gossip in The Bahamas is an art form -- called "sip sip" -- and the Anna Nicole saga has been quite a show for connoisseurs. The sordid details of Anna Nicole's private life inspire readers to pick up a paper, and when they do they read about a Government bending the rules for personal benefit and the privileged elite. The Anna Nicole affair has severely damaged Shane Gibson's political career, tarnishing one of the PLP's brighter stars. It also killed the Coroner's Court and may lead to changes in the laws allowing foreign property owners to obtain Bahamian residency. Whether the scandals also determine the fate of the PLP in coming elections is still to be seen, but a newly energized media holding the government accountable will almost certainly make the campaign more difficult for the incumbent party. END COMMENT.

ROOD

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