ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – THURSDAY JANUARY 31, 2019 High of 85 Low of 73 Rough with wave heights of 4 to 6 feet. Small craft should exercise caution over open water. EDITORIAL | PAGE 4 UK AND BREXIT: AN EMBARRASSING SPECTACLE LOCAL | PAGE 2 MAN OVERSTAYED ALMOST EIGHT YEARS Regulated in the Cayman Islands as a licensed insurer by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority. Incorporated in Guernsey under Company Registration No. 27151. Registered Head Office address: Generali Worldwide Insurance Company Limited, Generali House, Hirzel Street, St Peter Port, Guernsey, Channel Islands GY1 4PA. Head Office: Regulated in Guernsey as a licensed Insurer by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission under the Insurance Business (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2002 (as amended). Generali Worldwide Insurance Company Limited is part of the Generali Group, listed in the Italian Insurance Group Register under number 026. Providing Health Insurance benefits up to a Lifetime Maximum of US $2,400,000. Call us to learn how we can support your business today at 747-2000. TURTLE CENTRE PROUD OF RELEASE PROGRAM RESULTS Center hopes study results will boost conservation reputation JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com A new study showing the impact of the Cayman Turtle Centre in bringing back green turtles from the brink of extinction should help transform the international image of the institution, according to managing di- rector Tim Adam. The turtle center has been a pariah among some environmental groups for several years, becoming the focus of a World Animal Protec- tion group campaign to end turtle farming. Mr. Adam says the results of the study highlight the value of the West Bay attraction as a conservation center. The University of Barcelona study, funded by the U.K.’s Darwin Plus initiative and pro- duced with the assistance of the Department of Environment and the Turtle Centre, used DNA testing to show that 90 percent of the green turtles nesting on Cayman’s beaches had a direct family link to farmed turtles. That means the bulk of those turtles were released by the farm in infancy and have now reached adulthood and returned home to nest. Mr. Adam said the results show the vital conservation role that the Turtle Centre has played: “It shows that 50 years of work is paying off. We have brought the species back from the brink of extinction and we are looking forward to continuing this kind of work.” He said the work of the Turtle Centre was CAYMAN ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENT SUMMIT Oscar winner adds glam to marquee conference Make way for Hollywood royalty. Natalie Portman, a stalwart of the Star Wars franchise and winner of an Academy Award for her performance in “Black Swan,” will be the keynote speaker at next week’s Cayman Alternative Investment Summit. The conference, which will be held at the Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa from Feb. 6-8, will draw more than 80 notable speakers and 500 executives from the global alternative investment industry. Famed magician and illusionist David Blaine will also speak at the conference. This year’s conference, centered on the theme of “Tech-Tonic Shift: Innova- tion in Alternative Investments,” will ex- amine the impact of digital disruption and Dart plans temporary Seven Mile Beach bar JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com The Dart group hopes to turn a cottage on the old Coral Caymanian property on Seven Mile Beach into a bar and restaurant. The developer submitted plans for what it describes as a “temporary commercial beach facility” on the site of the old hotel next to Royal Palms. Plans include change of use for the beach cottage from a dwelling to a bar and kitchen unit as well as new prefabricated buildings for toilets, beach showers and towel rentals. The plans indicate an expected three- year “life span” for the development. In the longer term, the property is expected to be part of Dart’s master plan for the expansion of Camana Bay, which includes a proposal for a new hotel. Dart released a short statement on its website about the plans, indicating that the “pop up bar and restaurant” would be leased to a third-party operator and was slated for a spring 2019 opening. “The new bar and restaurant will be Actress Natalie PortmanMagician David Blaine PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 » The site of an old hotel next to the Royal Palms on Seven Mile Beach is slated for development by Dart as a temporary beach bar. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 »2 LOCAL NEWS THURSDAY JANUARY 31, 2019 • CAYMAN COMPASS • Matinees Daily (matinee price before 6pm) • Seniors $8.00, Mon-Fri Before 6pm • Additional charges apply per 3D/VIP tickets Cayman Cinema@cbcinema6cbcinema6 SATURDAY NIGHT: For your viewing pleasure, minors under the age of 18 will not be admitted to any film starting after 6pm, unless accompanied by their parent. - THURSDAY - 640-FILM (640-3456) THE MULE (R) 1:00 I 4:00 I 7:00 I 9:40 CARGO (R) 4:10 I 10:00 GLASS (PG13) 12:45 VIP I 3.15 I 6:40 VIP I 9:45 AQUAMAN (PG13) 1:10 I 4:15 I 7:10 I 9:35 VIP DRAGON BALL SUPER: BROLY (PG) 12:45 I 3:45 VIP I 7:20 I 10:10 BUMBLEBEE (PG13) 2:00 I 4:40 I 7:35 I 10:15 THE UPSIDE (PG13) 1:15 I 7:05 Red Cross lauds volunteer community The Cayman Islands Red Cross thanked some of the people who made its annual mission possible on Jan. 19 when it staged its 15th An- nual Volunteer Appreciation event. The event, called “The Henris,” makes a point of rec- ognizing and highlighting the achievements of volunteers. “The Red Cross is an or- ganization built on volunteer work and community engage- ment,” said Jondo Obi, di- rector of the Cayman Islands Red Cross. “This event first started as a way to recognize the tremendous work done by volunteers during Hurricane Ivan and since then has be- come an annual event which celebrates our volunteers and the work they’ve put in in the passing year.” The event, which was held at the Marriott Grand Cayman Resort, kicked off with a presentation by the Governor Martyn Roper, who thanked the volunteers for their hard work and commu- nity involvement. Long Service pins were awarded to Herfer Hyde and Grace Bryant for 15 years of service, and youth volunteers Amy Wagner, Ashlee Wagner, Kerry-Ann McField, Kareisha Nelson, Dalton Nelson Jr. and Dreshna James were given special recognition for their dedication. Carolina Ferreira, the deputy director of the Cayman Islands Red Cross and program manager for child protection and sexuality education, ran over a sum- mary of work done in the last year. Protection Starts Here, a multi-agency group dedi- cated to protecting children, went international in 2018 and hosted a workshop at an international symposium on child abuse and neglect. Peter Hughes, first aid training manager, thanked volunteers for staging 58 events over the course of 2018. The first aid program trained over 900 people in life- saving skills and certified 24 people in basic water safety. The program also added five new trainers, including one who speaks Spanish. Odette DaCosta was named First Aid Volunteer and Disaster Management Volun- teer of the Year, and Pamela Martin was named the Thrift Shop Volunteer of the Year. Alejandro Ruiz was named the Newcomer of the Year by the administration support mem- bers of the Red Cross. Eddie Sepp Tinling-Miller, disaster manager, provided an overview of work done in that field. Fifty-two new members of the Community Emergency Response Team were trained in 2018, as well as 32 new National Intervention Team members. CIRC engaged with 14 schools and introduced Op- eration Aftershock, which en- abled volunteers to experience a two-day disaster simulation. “The Cayman Islands Red Cross is privileged to have a strong, thoughtful and com- mitted group of volunteers,” said Samantha White-Smith, volunteer and resource man- ager of CIRC. “As a volunteer, you bring so much to the or- ganization: skills, experience, friendship, vision, leadership, inspiration and advice. … To- night, we take this opportu- nity to thank you and cele- brate all that you do.” Man overstayed almost eight years Defendant refused to say where he worked CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com A man who over- stayed almost eight years was sentenced this week to four months’ imprison- ment for overstaying plus a fine of $2,000 or a further four months for working without a permit. Omar Donovan Reid, 41, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to overstaying from Feb. 28, 2011 to Jan. 14, 2019. He also admitted working without a permit during that time. Crown counsel Scott Wainwright said Mr. Reid, a Jamaican national, mar- ried a Caymanian woman in August 2010. Five days after the marriage, his work permit expired, but he made no application for another permit or residence. He was invited to apply for employ- ment and residence rights, but declined to do so. He ad- mitted to knowingly over- staying and having knowl- edge of the immigration amnesty last year. Mr. Reid and his wife were still married but were living separately. They had a child together and remained friends, with the defendant paying $150 a month toward the support of the child. “He refused to disclose who he was working for and the nature of the work he was doing,” Mr. Wain- wright concluded. Defense attorney Dennis Brady told Magistrate Valdis Foldats that the defendant “had financial challenges and kept postponing what needed to be done until it got out of hand.” He said it was a case of not under- standing that being mar- ried to a Caymanian was not sufficient for him to be able to stay here. The magistrate said he could not accept this expla- nation because Mr. Reid had been told in 2011 that he needed to apply. Mr. Brady replied, “The importance and urgency was lost on him … He did not seek professional services be- cause of finances.” The magistrate said Mr. Reid had no right to be in Cayman until he conformed to the provisions of the Im- migration Law. If people follow the procedures in the law, there are no problems. If people put their head in the sand for years, then they face the consequences. Mr. Brady accepted that there had to be a deter- rent sentence. He suggested the “short, sharp shock” of a prison term followed by a requirement that Mr. Reid, within a week of release, make the application he should have made years ago. He emphasized the good re- lationship Mr. Reid had with his wife and the child’s at- tachment to him. The magistrate said Mr. Brady had put forward the best possible case for the de- fendant. He commented to Mr. Reid, “I have a lot of sym- pathy for your attorney, but not much for you.” He said the offenses were serious because they un- dermined immigration con- trol, particularly in Cayman because of its size and economy. A prison term was required to send a message to other people who might be inclined to ignore immigra- tion requirements, he added. Mr. Reid’s overstaying was not a technical oversight, he pointed out. “You were told you needed to regularize your position. You knew about the amnesty, but you ignored it,” he told the defendant. “Then working without a permit was taking work away from people who were entitled to work.” His starting point for over- staying is one year, he noted. With discount for the guilty plea, the sentence would have been eight months, but the magistrate said he was going to give Mr. Reid a chance to pay back what he had stolen from people who had the right to work. Imposing four months for overstaying, he went on to hand down a fine of $2,000 for working without a permit. The defendant has two weeks to arrange pay- ment or the alternative is four months’ imprisonment to be served consecutively. “This is the lowest pos- sible sentence I can impose,” he said. “You need to do right by your family and regularize your position.” Youth volunteer Dreshna James receives an award from Governor Martyn Roper. Volunteer of the Year Annette Bankasingh, right, receives her award from Red Cross Chairperson Irina Scrivens. WITNESS IN IMMIGRATION TRIAL ACCUSED OF WRONGDOING CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com The Crown’s first civilian witness in the trial of five immigration officers was questioned on Wednesday by defense attorneys, some of whom questioned her reason for giving evidence. Mariel Maleno Suriel pleaded guilty last year to four charges of conspiracy to commit fraud against the government. She began tes- tifying on Friday in the cur- rent trial of the immigration officers and two civilians, all of whom have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud on the govern- ment. The allegation is that they arranged for the pay- ment of rewards to public officers as consideration for providing assistance to work permit applicants to pass an English language test. Applicants must pass the test if they are from a country in which English is not the primary language. Defense attorney Crister Brady asked if Ms. Suriel expected to get a smaller sentence by giving evidence. She said no, adding, “The sentence is going to be what it is going to be. If I have to go to prison, let it be.” Her evidence was pri- marily against a civilian defendant who, she said, had told her he had a con- tact in the Immigration De- partment. He allegedly ar- ranged for immigration officers to administer the test who would help a can- didate through it. The jury has heard that such “help” usually cost CI$600 or US$800. Ms. Suriel said she never paid any money to any im- migration officer. She said she thought she was doing good by helping her family members by asking the man to arrange for assis- tance in passing the Eng- lish test. “I didn’t think that knowing someone else was doing wrong made you wrong as well,” she told at- torney Keva Reid. Later, when re-exam- ined by prosecutor Patrick Moran, she said she real- ized the accused man was doing something wrong “in the eyes of the law” because he told her she couldn’t tell anyone about it and the women he helped shouldn’t tell anyone because it was like a secret. Ms. Reid suggested that Ms. Suriel had come to court to protect herself. She also suggested that Ms. Suriel sold numbers, refer- ring to a lottery that is il- legal in Cayman. The witness agreed that when she was arrested in January 2017, officers found her with a book of numbers. She said she would take re- sponsibility for selling num- bers, but the responsibility she would not take was selling English tests. She also denied bringing people to Cayman for money. Questioned by attorney Jonathon Hughes, Ms. Su- riel agreed that she had no idea if any money went to any immigration officer. She did not know the offi- cers in the dock. One of the female officers was the girl- friend of the male civilian, but he had never said she was his contact.The islands’ most-trusted news source 3 CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY JANUARY 31, 2019 The islands’ most-trusted news source 4 – EDITORIAL – Opinion & Letters The Cayman Compass welcomes comments, opinions and viewpoints from readers. Letters to the editor can be emailed to editor@pinnaclemedialtd.com, submitted via www.caymancompass.com, sent by post or hand-delivered to the Compass office. WASHINGTON – Surely the silliest aspirant for the Democrats’ 2020 presiden- tial nomination is already known: “Beto,” aka Robert Francis, O’Rourke is a skate- boarding man-child whose fascination with himself caused him to live-stream a recent dental appoint- ment for – openwide, please – teeth cleaning. His journal about his post-election recu- peration-through-road-trip- to-nowhere-in-particular is so without wit or interesting observations that it merits Truman Capote’s description of “On the Road” author Jack Kerouac’s work: That’s not writing, that’s typing. When Democrats are done flirting with such in- sipidity, their wandering at- tentions can flit to a con- trastingly serious candidacy, coming soon from Minne- sota. The land of 10,000 lakes and four unsuc- cessful presidential candi- dates (Harold Stassen, Hu- bert Humphrey, Eugene McCarthy, Walter Mondale) now has someone who could break the state’s losing streak. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is the person perhaps best equipped to send the cur- rent president packing. To get the boring part over with, she satisfies the 2020 Chromosome Criterion: The Democratic nominating electorate is disproportion- ately female and eager to achieve what they came tan- talizingly close to in 2016, a female president. Now, about politics and policy. She is from a state con- tiguous with Iowa, whose caucuses might, or might not, be as big a deal in 2020 as they have been since Jimmy Carter’s 1976 success in them propelled him toward the presidency. (Early voting for Califor- nia’s March 3 primary, in which probably 11 percent of delegates to the Dem- ocratic National Conven- tion will be allocated, be- gins the day of Iowa’s caucuses, so some candi- dates might slight Iowa in order to court California.) Minnesota also borders Wisconsin, one of the three Rust Belt states (the others are Michigan and Pennsyl- vania) that Donald Trump took that had voted Demo- cratic in at least six consec- utive presidential elections. She is from the Midwest, where Democrats need help in Michigan (Trump car- ried it by just 0.3 percent of the vote), Iowa (Trump by 9 percentage points), Ohio (Trump by 9 points). Minnesota has voted Democratic in 11 consecu- tive presidential elections (since it spurned George Mc- Govern, from neighboring South Dakota, in 1972). It has more electoral votes (10) than such swing states as New Hampshire (4), Iowa (6), Nevada (6) and Colo- rado (9). But Minnesota’s blueness has been fading: Barack Obama defeated Mitt Romney by 8 percentage points in 2012, but four years later Hillary Clinton defeated Trump by just 1.5 points. Klobuchar, who will be 59 in May, is the daughter of a newspaper columnist. Surmounting this hand- icap, she went to Yale, then to the University of Chicago Law School, then to a law firm. Then to a maternity ward, where she was pro- voked: Her infant daughter had a serious problem, but the rule at the time was that new mothers should be out of the hospital in 24 hours, which kindled her interest in public policy. After a stint as the elected pros- ecuting attorney of Hen- nepin County (Minneapolis- St. Paul), she won an open Senate seat in 2006. Last year she won a third term by a 24-point margin. Her state has a signifi- cant farming population and agribusiness (e.g., Car- gill, General Mills, Land O’Lakes, Hormel), so she has had practice speaking to populations and interests that Democrats need, and speaking against trade wars in which farmers quickly become collateral damage. She has become informed about what could be one of the most salient issues in 2020 – the high costs of pre- scription drugs. In the Al- manac of American Poli- tics’ most recent (2015) vote rankings, she was the 27th most liberal senator, liberal enough to soothe other lib- erals without annoying ev- eryone else. As the bidding war for the affection of the Dem- ocratic left spirals into inanity – “Abolish ICE!”; “70 percent marginal tax rate!”;”Impeach the presi- dent!”; “Pack the Supreme Court!”; “Medicare for all!”; “Free college!”; “Free other stuff!” – Klobuchar is the potential top-tier candidate most apt to resist forfeiting the general election while winning the nomination. Her special strength, however, is her tempera- ment. Baseball, it has been said, is not a game you can play with your teeth clenched. That is also true of politics, another day-by-day game with a long season: It requires an emotional equi- poise, a blend of relaxation and concentration, stamina leavened by cheerfulness. Klobuchar laughs easily and often. If the nation wants an angry president, it can pick from among the many seething Democratic aspi- rants, or can keep the one president it has. If, how- ever, it would like someone to lead a fatigued nation in a long exhale, it can pick a Minnesotan, at last. George Will’s email address is georgewill@washpost.com. © 2019, Washington Post Writers Group. “This is a culture war issue. It’s a very, very awkward position to be in, because you have to go against your constituents in order to protect them – even though they say they want no deal.” - Tony Travers, London School of Economics professor For astute analysis of complex geopolitical issues, we often turn to the Cayman Islands’ own Tony Travers, a senior partner of Travers Thorp Alberga who knows more about global finance than, well, just about anyone. Today’s editorial, however, opens with an incisive quote from “the other Tony Travers” – a London-based professor who neatly sums up the “elites’ perspective” on the ongoing Brexit fiasco. England’s Mr. Travers made his comments to The New York Times in response to Parliament’s vote Tuesday to attempt to remove the Irish border “backstop” from the Brexit deal that had been negoti- ated by Prime Minister Theresa May and then rejected by overwhelming margins in Parliament. British lawmakers’ proposal to amend the 585-page Brexit agreement sends Ms. May back to Brussels, where she is to meet European Union offi- cials who have already (to quote the Associated Press story we have published on Page 10 in today’s Compass) “offered a united chorus of ‘No’” to the changes she is charged with negotiating. Both Ms. May and EU officials have previously asserted that the plan rejected by Parliament was the best that could be expected. French President Emmanuel Macron said it “is the best accord possible. It is not re-negotiable.” EU Council President Donald Tusk’s office stated this week that the Irish border agreement, specifically, is “not open for renegotiation.” Pundits say Parliament’s decision to press the issue of the Irish backstop increases the likelihood of the U.K. leaving the EU on the March 29 deadline without any agreement being in place. (It is worth noting, but perhaps not much more, that British lawmakers also passed a non-binding motion calling on the govern- ment to rule out the occurrence of a “no deal” Brexit on March 29.) In other words, Ms. May can expect her recep- tion in Brussels to be not just “chilly,” but akin to the “polar vortex” that has frozen large chunks of the U.S. Midwest, plunging temperatures as low as -44 degrees Fahrenheit. (For the benefit of our British and European readers, that’s -42 Celsius.) Not aiding Prime Minister May’s cause … actually, obliterating any leverage she might otherwise possess … is her status as a “dead woman walking” following her narrow escape from a no-confidence vote among Parliament following the historic repudiation of her Brexit deal. From the beginning, British officials’ handling of Brexit could be described as a form of entertainment for those who enjoy ogling slow-motion train wrecks. In mid-2015, then-Prime Minister David Cameron set the stage, and perhaps the bar, for the cavalcade of follies generated during and after the June 2016 Brexit referendum upon which Mr. Cameron bet the future of his political career and his country … a wager the ex-Prime Minister lost, and the consequences of which have engulfed the U.K. and European Continent. The benefit of hindsight is not necessary to deter- mine that the complex and nuanced question of with- drawing the U.K. from the EU should never have gone to a plebiscite. As American columnist George F. Will has said, the role of the public is not to make policy decisions, but to decide who will make those decisions. That being said, attempted justifications for holding a second Brexit referendum make for weak tea. Any attempt at a “do over” would be based on the elitist belief of “The Establishment” that the more than 17 million people who voted “Leave” in June 2016 were too misinformed, or too stupid, to know what they were voting for. Once U.K. voters cast their ballots in favor of “Leave,” their elected officials were (and “remain”) duty-bound to carry out the popular will to which they had appealed … deal or no deal. UK and Brexit: An embarrassing spectacle THURSDAY JANUARY 31, 2019 • CAYMAN COMPASS Klobuchar could be 2020 contender for Democrats PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY: Caymanian Compass Limited (a subsidiary of Pinnacle Media Ltd) Compass Centre Shedden Road, George Town SEND US YOUR VIEWS OR NEWS: P.O. Box 1365 Grand Cayman KY1-1108, Cayman Islands Telephone: (345) 815-0095 Email: newsdesk@pinnaclemedialtd.com ADVERTISE WITH US: Telephone: (345) 949-5111 Email: sales@pinnaclemedialtd.com Website: www.caymancompass.com PUBLISHERS DAVID R. LEGGE AND VICKI L. LEGGE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF DAVID R. LEGGE EXECUTIVE EDITOR PATRICK BRENDEL A MEMBER OF THE INTER-AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION “Give light and the people will find their own way” GEORGE F. WILL Klobuchar, who will be 59 in May, is the daughter of a newspaper columnist. Surmounting this handicap, she went to Yale, then to the University of Chicago Law School, then to a law firm. 5 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY JANUARY 31, 2019 Another Cuban migrant challenges asylum denial by Appeals Tribunal Argues that Immigration Law may be unconstitutional KEN SILVA ksilva@pinnaclemedialtd.com A Cuban migrant is chal- lenging the Immigration Ap- peals Tribunal’s decision last month to deny him asylum, arguing that he did not re- ceive a fair hearing of his application. According to court docu- ments, the migrant arrived here in April 2017 and ap- plied for asylum. His appli- cation was refused in August 2017, and his appeal was also unsuccessful. Now, the migrant has taken his case to the Grand Court, arguing that the Im- migration Appeals Tri- bunal violated his right to a fair hearing. The Cuban’s writ, which is posted on the financial ser- vices site OffshoreAlert, in- cludes the Immigration Ap- peals Tribunal’s written decision to deny him asylum. According to the writ, the tribunal denied him asylum because it was not satisfied that he was at risk of being politically persecuted by Cuban authorities. “He travelled to Havana with his sick child for sur- gery, despite indication from the authorities to the con- trary, without being pun- ished. He disobeyed his su- periors without being sent to the Military tribunal as per the policy explained by him of the Cuban regime,” the appeals tribunal stated, ac- cording to court documents. “And when asked about the type of threats he would face in Cuba, he said the first thing is to get me fired, sug- gesting that losing his job was paramount in his mind to persecution.” Therefore, the tribunal concluded that the Cuban did not show that he has a well- founded fear of political per- secution, nor did he show that he would face any risk of suffering serious harm if he returns to Cuba. However, the Cuban mi- grant strongly disagrees with those decisions. His writ states that the appeals tri- bunal failed to consider the treatment he will face from him deserting the Cuban mil- itary, leaving Cuba illegally, and presenting an asylum application in Cayman. The Cuban also argues that he has had his legal rights breached during his asylum hearings. “The Appellant is a Cuban National, who speaks little or no English. He has been re- quired to conduct his own application to the Immigra- tion Department, and sub- sequently Appeal to the Respondent, without the as- sistance of an attorney-at- law. He has been assisted by a Mackenzie friend, unqualified in law, and for whom English is a second language,” the Cuban’s writ states. “The Ap- pellant has not had his right of a fair trial protected, and the policy refusing to allow Legal Aid in [Immigration Ap- peals Tribunal] matters is, it is submitted, in contraven- tion of Article 16 of the Ref- ugee Convention.” The Cuban is seeking to have the court overturn the Immigration Appeals Tribu- nal’s decision, and to have his application remitted there for a hearing in accordance with the law. This Cuban’s challenge comes after seven other Cuban migrants also ap- pealed their cases to the Grand Court, with a hearing taking place last November. Those migrants made similar arguments as the ones laid out in the latest challenge: that they did not have a fair hearing in front of the appeals tribunal. Their attorney, Alastair David, argued in court that they did not have access to an attorney at their initial hearings, and that the Im- migration Appeals Tribunal did not follow international conventions when consid- ering their applications. The attorney further argued that the Immigration Law may be unconstitutional because it allows government to grant asylum to refugees, but not to allow “limited leave” to stay here for non-refugees who may have their rights vi- olated if they’re returned to the country they fled. Rights violations could in- deed be in store for the seven migrants if they are returned to Cuba, Mr. David said at the November hearing. Government for its part, has argued that the Cuban migrants do not qualify as political refugees. “Simply not liking your country’s government does not make you, a priori, a ref- ugee,” Crown counsel Mi- chael Smith said at the No- vember hearing. “Otherwise, Cayman would be full of U.K. asylum seekers fleeing Brexit and U.S. asylum seekers fleeing Trump.” Mr. Smith also addressed Mr. David’s argument that the Immigration Appeals Tri- bunal did not sufficiently ex- plain its reasons for denying the Cubans’ applications. While admitting that the three- to four-page decisions – compared to decisions that are typically 20 pages or more in the U.K. – are not “exem- plars of judicial drafting,” he said that they were sufficient in explaining why the Cubans should be denied asylum. For the decisions to be unlawful, the Cubans would have to prove that they were “substantially prejudiced” by the lack of details in the judgments, Mr. Smith said last November. If those Cubans’ legal challenge is successful, the Grand Court does not have power to grant asylum but would send the cases back to the Immigration Ap- peals Tribunal with orders to reconsider the applica- tions. Mr. David mentioned that he might push for new members to be on the next tribunal, too. A decision in that case has not been publicly announced. His writ states that the appeals tribunal failed to consider the treatment he will face from him deserting the Cuban military, leaving Cuba illegally, and presenting an asylum application in Cayman.The islands’ most-trusted news source 6 Community CALENDAR ■ COMMUNITY CALENDAR is published TUESDAYS and THURSDAYS. It is available to charitable or nonprofit organizations. Items should be submitted at least three working days before publication. Information must include name of sender, signature and contact number. ■ Items may be faxed to 949-2662, brought to the Cayman Compass office on Shedden Rd. or emailed to cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com at least three days in advance of publication. THURSDAY JANUARY 31, 2019 • CAYMAN COMPASS THURSDAY, JAN. 31 NORTH SIDE MEETING: MLA Ezzard Miller invites all residents to a public meeting to discuss topics of interest, including the roads in Cayman Kai. 8 p.m., Craddock Ebanks Civic Centre. WEST BAY TRAFFIC: CUC advises motorists using Watercourse Road in West Bay to exercise extreme caution today through Friday, Feb. 1, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., as CUC’s crews will be planting new poles on Watercourse Road between the junction with Hell Road and the junction with Boatswain Bay Road. CUC will have vehicles and personnel in the area and will be required to temporarily block one lane on several sections of Watercourse Road. Electricity service will not be affected. THATCH PLAITING: Community thatch plaiting class, 7-9 p.m. at the Heritage House, Cayman Brac. Cost $5. SATURDAY, FEB. 2 RUM TAILS: The Fourth Annual Rum Tails event, in aid of charity group One Dog At A Time, takes place 1-4:30 p.m. at Cayman Spirits Company, 65 Bronze Road, North Sound Road. The show includes a dog agility demonstration by Heidi Suarez Rivera, then competitions including best toy pooch, best rescue, best trick, best costume, waggiest tail and more. Dogs can enter one or more categories for $5 per event. Certificates and prizes. Professional photographer and dog washing available. Food and drinks on sale. SUNDAY, FEB. 3 SPECIAL SERVICE: The Session of Boatswain Bay Presbyterian Church will be promoting Elder Rupert Ebanks to Elder Emeritus at 11 a.m. Everyone is invited to attend. WEDNESDAY, FEB. 6 SMOKING CESSATION: The Public Health Department advises smokers who wish to quit that there are some spaces left in an upcoming smoking cessation class. The sessions will run every Wednesday from 5:15 p.m. to 6:45 p.m., beginning today. Venue for classes is the new Public Health Administration office at the Smith Road Centre on the second floor. For more information or to sign up contact the Public Health Department on 244-2889 or 244-2621. Interested persons may also email sarah.hetley@hsa.ky or nola.sanderson@hsa.ky. FRIDAY, FEB. 8 GRANTS FOR THE ARTS: Today is the deadline to apply for grants to the arts, given by the Cayman National Cultural Foundation to individuals, groups and/or organizations to help further development, assist in bringing a worthy project to fruition, or in some cases to support an ongoing project or program. The Grants for the Arts Guidelines and Application Form can be downloaded at www. artscayman.org or collected from the CNCF office. SUNDAY, FEB. 10 HEART WARRIORS ANGELS BEACH WALK: 7 a.m. Seven Mile Public Beach. $25 to participate. Proceeds go to Hart For Hearts and Cayman Heart Fund. This event is sponsored by Team Cristiano and Team Nolan, who are walking in honor of the late Cristiano McKenzie and Nolan Evans. WEDNESDAY, FEB. 13 ROAD WORK: The National Roads Authority and subcontractors will be carrying out road paving works on Shamrock Road from Midsummer Drive to the Dr. Tomlinson Roundabout to upgrade drainage and the deteriorated road surface. Works are scheduled for today through Feb. 19 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. each day. Drivers are asked to keep watch for traffic diversions and to drive with caution to ensure their safety and that of the work crews. GENERAL INTEREST PUBLIC INPUT: The public now has until Feb. 28 to share feedback about the National Planning Framework, which sets out long-term goals for land use and physical development as part of the Development Plan for Grand Cayman. More information at www. plancayman.ky. Printed copies of the document can be viewed at the PlanCayman Information Counter, located in the lobby of the Government Administration Building. LOCAL HARVEST MARKET: Local farmers sell their produce and farmed goods at Camana Bay on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Heliconia Court (located next to Scotiabank). SPECIAL OLYMPICS: Be a volunteer for athlete training at Truman Bodden Sports Complex. Tuesdays, 5:30 p.m. for track, bocce and football, and Thursdays, 5:30 p.m. for basketball. Swimming on Wednesdays at the Lions Pool 10-11 a.m. or on Saturdays at the Cayman International School pool, 9:30 a.m. Email soci@candw.ky or call 916-2600. COMMUNITY CHESS: Tuesdays 5-8 p.m., West Indies Wine Company. Join the Cayman Chess Club for a complimentary chess class and open challenges weekly. Anyone can learn to play and enjoy chess, even beginners. ART OPEN CANVAS: At KARoo Restaurant in Camana Bay, Wednesdays 7-11 p.m. Artists of all levels are welcome to come and enjoy painting and socializing with other artists. Includes use of easels, lights, space, beverage ticket. No fee. For more information, contact info@visualartcayman.com or jar.was@gmail.com. VISUAL ARTS SOCIETY: Adult Open Studio available to those who want to work independently in an inspiring atmosphere. Wednesdays for adults, 9 a.m. till noon. Thursdays Adults and Youth, 10 a.m. till noon. Watler House Art Studio, Pedro St. James. Fee is $5/$15 or Ceramics. $15 pp/$25 pp non-members. Includes use of studio, glazes and ceramic tools. Clay available $30 per bag/fee for kiln usage. To register, call 546-9422 or email info@visualartcayman.com. SEAFARERS HALL: The Cayman Islands Seafarers Association wishes to inform the community that the hall is now available for rent every day of the week, including Saturdays, as the church is no longer contracted with the association at 11 Victory Avenue, Prospect. THRIFT SHOP: One Dog at a Time’s New To U shop is now located at JJT Warehouses, Row 2, Unit 2 on Industrial Way. Open every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Variety of items available, including men’s, women’s, children’s and baby clothes, shoes, household, electrical items, CDs, DVDs, books, home furnishings, toys, games, furniture, baby cribs, car seats, dog beds and more. BETHESDA COUNSELLING CENTRE: Caters to all who seek help. Open Monday to Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at 68 Mary Street. Appointments available Saturdays and late evenings. Owned and operated by the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Call 946-6575. HUMANE SOCIETY BOOK LOFT: North Sound Road. Open Monday 12:30-4 p.m.; Tuesday-Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Volunteers needed for front desk a few hours per week. For more information, email humanesocietybookloft@ candw.ky or call 946-8053. Donations of books, games, CDs, stationery, DVDs, cards etc. in good condition needed. CLUBS, ORGANIZATIONS ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS: Meets daily to help with drinking problems. Call 926-9044 or visit www.caymanaa.org. NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS: Is available for substance abuse help. Call the info line at 929–NANA (6262). AL-ANON GROUP MEETING: Are you troubled by someone’s drinking? Al-Anon Family Groups can help. Call 928-8843 or email caymanalanon@gmail.com for meeting times. OVERCOMERS OUTREACH: A Christ-centered 12-step recovery group addresses addictions and those affected by them. Meetings at Cayman Islands Baptist Church, Pedro Castle Road, Tuesdays, 7:15 p.m. For details, contact Vanessa Gilman at 946-2422, or visit www.overcomersoutreach.org. DEMENTIA/ALZHEIMER’S SUPPORT GROUP: This group meets on the last Wednesday of each month at ADACI’s office, 4th floor, Cardinall Plaza, 30 Cardinall Ave., George Town. Call 924-4170 or email info@adacayman.com. GRAND CAYMAN TOASTMASTERS: Club meets each Thursday 6-7:15 p.m. on 3rd Floor, George Town Public Library. Visitors and guests welcome. Contact George R. Ebanks at 322-9369 or Grand Cayman Toastmasters club on Facebook. Email info@ toastmastersclub2686.org. THE LIONS CLUB OF GRAND CAYMAN: Meets every first and third Thursday 7:30 p.m. at the Lions Community Centre. Email lionsclubgcm@hotmail.com. THE LIONS CLUB OF TROPICAL GARDENS: Meet every first and third Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Elizabethan Square (corner unit). Members of the public are invited to attend. ROTARY CLUB OF GRAND CAYMAN SUNRISE: Service club meetings 7 a.m. every Wednesday at George Town Yacht Club, 612 North Sound Road. Visit www.rotarysunrise.ky or info@rotarysunrise.ky. KIWANIS CLUB OF GRAND CAYMAN: Meets first and third Wednesdays of the month, 12:30 p.m., at The Wharf Restaurant. Projects include promoting well- being of children in the community and schools. Email president@kiwanis.ky or view www.kiwanis.ky. OPTIMIST CLUB: Meets first and third Tuesdays at the Hibiscus Conference Room, Cayman Islands Hospital at 6:30 p.m. Learn more at www.optimistcayman.com. PARENT AND TODDLER PLAY GROUP: For children from 2 weeks to 4 years. Meets Mondays 9:30-11:30 a.m. in the South Sound Community Centre. Children must be accompanied by parent or helper. Toys, activities, light refreshments provided. $6 per session per family. Email sspg@foxwood.ky. HEARTS THROUGH HANDS: Meets Wednesdays 9:30 a.m. to noon at The Family Life Centre, Room 10, Academy Way. Women make crafts for charity and missions. Call 946–3067 or 947–1863. BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S CLUB: Meets third Wednesday of every month, Governors Square Boardroom at 5:30 p.m. Visit www.facebook.com/ BPWGrandCayman. BREASTFEEDING SUPPORT GROUP: MothertoMother meetings first Tuesday of every month, 3-4 p.m. outside Women’s Health Centre at the Cayman Islands Hospital. Children welcome. Contact Women’s Health Centre at 244-2649. LIFE UNDERWRITERS ASSOCIATION: Meeting luncheons held on last Thursday of each month. YBPW: Meets every third Monday of each month at the Woman’s Resource Centre. RELIGIOUS SERVICES EL MINISTERIO HISPANO: de la Iglesia Bautista Cayman Islands te hace una cordial invitación a nuestro culto en español cada Domingo, 6:30 p.m., Pedro Castle Road, Savannah. Para transporte, llamar al teléfono no. 946-2422, email: cibaptist@candw.ky. For more Community Calendar events, visit www.caymancompass.com/events. Residents are invited to a public meeting at Craddock Ebanks Civic Centre with MLA Ezzard Miller to discuss topics of interest, including the roads in Cayman Kai. The meeting starts at 8 p.m. on Thursday.The islands’ most-trusted news source 7 CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY JANUARY 31, 2019 Dart plans temporary Seven Mile Beach bar leased to a third-party op- erator and will utilise ex- isting buildings and prefab- ricated structures to create a low-impact development. The facility is intended as a short-term activation of the beach for a planned max- imum of three years, as Dart considers future options for the site as part of the overall masterplan for Camana Bay,” it said. “A new beach bar at Ca- mana Bay provides residents and visitors additional ame- nities to enjoy on Seven Mile Beach. Plans include retrofit- ting the existing cottage on the beach site for the bar, and temporary structures that can be removed and repur- posed without leaving a sub- stantial footprint on the nat- ural environment.” CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 trends shaping the future of the alternatives industry. Speakers will also discuss the impact of globaliza- tion, populism and how the alternatives industry can embrace adversity and op- portunity in increasingly turbulent markets. Ms. Portman was born in Jerusalem, Israel, and grew up in suburban Long Island, New York, before making it big in Hollywood. She gained notoriety as a teenager for appearances in films such as “Leon: The Professional,” and she starred in “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” before graduating high school. She went on to make two more Star Wars films and starred in “V for Ven- detta” in 2006, and four years later, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as a ballerina in “Black Swan.” Ms. Portman has also distinguished herself as a social activist, and she travels the world working to combat inequality in the workplace and to empower young women as leaders. Ms. Portman was one of the original signatories in the Time’s Up move- ment against sexual ha- rassment, and she will dis- cuss both her film career and her social prerogatives at the CAIS conference. “Following the enormous success she has achieved as both an actress and a social advocate, we’re thrilled to welcome Natalie Portman as the keynote for CAIS19,” said Chris Duggan, director of CAIS and vice president of busi- ness development for event sponsor Dart. “Natalie’s keynote will provide at- tendees a glimpse into her philanthropic involvement, which will complement the two days of thought- provoking conversations on the role of the alterna- tive investment industry in making a positive global impact, and how every business has a social re- sponsibility to its people and to its communities.” CAIS speakers and at- tendees will also hear from magician David Blaine, who will participate in a fireside chat on the first night of the conference. Mr. Blaine will discuss the way magic is experienced and shown on television and will perform live on stage for attendees. In addition to the high- profile roster of alterna- tives industry speakers an- nounced in October, CAIS will welcome many new in- dustry speakers including: Scott Kupor, managing partner at Andreessen Horowitz; Marisa Drew, CEO of the Impact Advisory and Finance (IAF) Depart- ment at Credit Suisse; Dr. Jianbo Lu, head of robotics and intelligent vehicles at Ford Motor Company; Mark Foster, senior vice presi- dent at IBM Global Busi- ness Services; Mike Pen- rose, executive director at UNICEF U.K.; Travis Kling, founder and CIO of Ikigai Asset Management; Te- resa Barger, CEO of Cartica Management; and Chris- tina Qi, co-founder and partner at Domeyard LP. an “object lesson” in the ability of captive breeding programs to help revive threatened species. Green turtles were considered func- tionally extinct in Cayman’s waters at the end of the 20th century. The study shows that there is now a nesting pop- ulation of around 150 green turtles in Cayman’s waters. Mr. Adam said that is encouraging, but he be- lieves the Turtle Centre still needs to continue its breeding programs. “It is certainly very en- couraging to see the numbers of nests increasing, but it is still a fragile number. I think Cayman is still quite a dis- tance away from saying we have a population of green turtles that is self-sustaining and we don’t need to have any intervention to keep it going,” he said. The Department of Envi- ronment has expressed res- ervations about the Turtle Centre’s continuing release programs. Speaking at a press conference last week, environment director Gina Ebanks-Petrie said the DoE would like to see indepen- dent vetting of the center’s release protocols to ensure there were no unintended, negative consequences. Mr. Adam insists that the Turtle Centre already has its protocols vetted and the health of its turtles checked through a partnership with the University of Georgia. After 50 years of releases, he said, there had been no ill-ef- fects connected to the Turtle Centre’s release program. The Turtle Centre, which rebranded from “Cayman Turtle Farm” in 2016 as part of an image change, plans to increase its focus both on conservation and what Mr. Adam calls “turtle tourism.” Last year, the center ex- perimented with public re- leases of hatchlings and older “head started” turtles, reared for a year in captivity to in- crease their odds of survival. He said the public re- leases had proved popular. “If we can get people to fall in love with turtles, you are going to protect what you love,” he added. The farm released around 1,300 hatchlings last year, of which around 170 were “head started.” Mr. Adam acknowl- edges that many still view the turtle center’s function of producing turtle meat for sale as a contradiction of its stated remit to be a conserva- tion center. But he points to another Darwin Plus-funded study as evidence that the center’s meat production also serves a conservation purpose. In surveys for that study, more than half of the Caymanian consumers interviewed indi- cated they would buy wild turtle if the farm were to close its doors. Mr. Adam said, “The reason we still produce turtle meat is for the conservation value. We sell it at a subsi- dized rate and that helps pre- vent poaching.” He believes more can be done to persuade Cayma- nians to eat turtle less, and to consider turtle as a meal for a special occasion rather than for every Sunday. But he says it is unrealistic to ex- pect people to stop eating it completely. Turtles bred at Cayman Turtle Centre are released at Spotts Beach during a 2018 Pirates Week event. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Oscar winner adds glam to marquee conference WASTE UNLEASHED FROM BRAZIL DAM ON ITS WAY TO A LARGER RIVER RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – A torrent of mining waste unleashed by a dam breach that killed at least 84 people in southeastern Brazil is now heading down a small river with high concentrations of iron oxide, threatening to contaminate a much larger river that provides drinking water to commu- nities in five of the coun- try’s 26 states. The release of the muddy waste has al- ready turned the nor- mally greenish water of the Paraopeba River brown about 11 miles downstream from the southeastern city of Bru- madhinho, where the broken dam is. The chief of an indig- enous community said Tuesday that Brazilian environmental agents warned his community to stop fishing in the river, bathing in it and using its water for the plants they cultivate as food. The Paraopeba flows into the much larger Sao Francisco River, which pro- vides drinking and irri- gation water to hundreds of municipalities and larger cities. As grieving relatives of the dead bury family mem- bers and searchers con- tinue looking for 276 people who are missing, Brazilian authorities and companies involved with river water management are trying to figure out how to prevent the contamination. Turtle Centre proud of release program Cayman Turtle Centre Managing Director Tim Adam said the work of the Turtle Centre was an “object lesson” in the ability of captive breeding programs to help revive threatened species. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 A three-year lifespan is expected for the beach bar that Dart is planning next to Royal Palms. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAYThe islands’ most-trusted news source 8 THURSDAY JANUARY 31, 2019 • CAYMAN COMPASS Church ends 24/7 service after gov’t policy shift A Dutch Protestant church has ended a nonstop service that started in October to protect a family of Armenian asylum-seekers from deportation after the government announced changes to its immigration policy. Venezuela opposition urges walkouts to pressure Maduro Taliban say they are not looking to rule Afghanistan alone ISLAMABAD (AP) – The Tal- iban said Wednesday they are not seeking a “monopoly on power” in a future ad- ministration in Afghanistan but are looking for ways to co-exist with Afghan insti- tutions – the most concilia- tory statement to date from the militants. The statement came amid intensified U.S.-led ef- forts to resolve the long-run- ning Afghanistan war. U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad re- ported this week that there had been “agreements in principle” toward a frame- work for peace with the Tal- iban, who now control al- most half of the country and carry out near-daily attacks, mainly targeting Afghan se- curity forces and govern- ment officials. Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman based in the Gulf Arab country of Qatar where the Taliban have a political of- fice, said that once U.S. forces withdraw from Afghanistan, the Taliban want to live with other Afghans, “tolerate one another and start life like brothers.” Shaheen’s state- ment was provided in an ex- clusive audio message to The Associated Press. “After the end of the oc- cupation, Afghans should forget their past and tolerate one another and start life like brothers. After the with- drawal, we are not seeking a monopoly on power,” Shaheen said. “We believe in an inclusive Afghan world, where all Af- ghans can see themselves in it,” he added. He also said the Taliban envision a reformed po- lice and local police forces, without offering specifics. Afghanistan’s local police forces have been widely crit- icized as deeply corrupt and intimidating of the local population. Shaheen said another round of talks with Khalilzad, the U.S. envoy, is planned for Feb. 25 in Doha. Khalilzad, who held talks with the Taliban for six days last week in Qatar, said during a visit to Kabul on Monday that much more re- mains to be done but that there has been significant progress toward an agree- ment with the insurgents. In turn, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani assured Af- ghans that no deals would be made without the Kabul gov- ernment’s awareness and full participation. U.S. troops invaded Af- ghanistan in November 2001 in response to the Sept. 11 at- tacks and ousted the Taliban, who had harbored al-Qaida and its leader, Osama bin Laden. The Taliban, who had ruled Afghanistan since 1996, had imposed a harsh form of Islamic law. Shaheen also said the U.S. and the Taliban will es- tablish joint technical teams to work out details of a fu- ture U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan as well as ways of preventing Afghani- stan from again becoming a haven for terrorist groups such as al-Qaida. Khalilzad, who was ap- pointed last September, has stepped up efforts to find a negotiated end to Afghani- stan’s protracted war that will allow an eventual with- drawal of U.S. forces and bring to an end America’s longest military engagement that has already cost Wash- ington about $1 trillion. President Donald Trump has also expressed frustra- tion with the U.S. continued involvement in Afghanistan, lending a greater urgency to an early settlement. Despite intense negotia- tions with Khalilzad, the Tal- iban have refused to nego- tiate directly with Kabul and often refer to the Afghan gov- ernment as puppets of the United States. Khalilzad has also pressed Ghani’s gov- ernment, which is deeply di- vided, to cobble together a strong negotiating team. Atta-ul Rahman Salim, deputy head of the Afghan High Peace Council which comprises top Afghan clerics and other prominent figures, said the only way to peace is through direct talks with the government. “If the Taliban really want to join the peace process, the best and easy way to start is with direct peace talks with the Afghan government,” he said, adding that “there is a big difference between what you say and what you do.” Despite the Taliban insur- gents’ refusal to negotiate with Kabul, Shaheen’s mes- sage appeared directed at a wide array of stakeholders in Afghanistan – possibly even Ghani’s government – who could work together to hasten U.S. troop pullout. “The withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghan- istan is a shared responsi- bility and a pride for all Af- ghans,” Shaheen said. CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) – Op- position leader Juan Guaido is looking to ratchet up pres- sure on President Nicolas Maduro with walkouts across Venezuela on Wednesday, just a day after the embattled so- cialist administration barred Guaido from leaving the country while he is investi- gated for anti-government activities. The man challenging Maduro’s claim to the presi- dency is urging Venezuelans to step outside their homes and workplaces for two hours beginning at noon in the first mass mobilization since he declared himself the nation’s rightful leader a week ago during another round of big protests. “Venezuela is set on change,” Guaido said. The surge in political maneuvering has seen two dozen nations, including the United States and several big Latin American countries, back Guaido, and the Trump administration has imposed sanctions that could starve the already distressed nation of billions in oil revenue. But Maduro is holding firm in refusing to step down. He huddled with military troops early Wednesday and has overseen military exer- cises in recent days while seeking to consolidate sup- port from the armed forces. He accused Washington of staging a coup and pressed his case directly to the American people in a short video shot in the presiden- tial palace. President Donald Trump and “this group of ex- tremists” have their eyes on Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, said Maduro, warning that the U.S. is about to repeat a bloody chapter in its history. “We won’t allow a Vietnam in Latin America,” Maduro said. “If the aim of the United States is to invade, they’ll have a Vietnam worse than can be imagined.” In an interview with Rus- sia’s state-owned RIA Novosti news agency on Wednesday, Maduro said he was “willing to sit down for talks with the opposition for the sake of Venezuela’s peace and its fu- ture.” Maduro said the talks could be held with mediation of other countries. Russia is one of the staunchest sup- porters of Maduro and has offered to mediate. Maduro also accused the U.S. president of ordering a hit on him from Colombia. He said he was aware of Trump’s “orders” for the Colombian government and the local mafia to kill him. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court barred Guaido from leaving the country after chief prosecutor Tarek Wil- liam Saab announced that he was opening a criminal in- vestigation of Maduro’s foe, who heads the opposition- controlled congress. Saab is a key Maduro ally and the high court is stacked with Maduro loyalists. The court move came after U.S. national security adviser John Bolton warned that the Maduro government would face “serious consequences” if Guaido is harmed. Guaido has thus far man- aged to avoid arrest and the Supreme Court did not strip him of his legislative immu- nity, though the new inves- tigation could signal that Maduro’s administration is moving to take a more puni- tive approach. Speaking Tuesday out- side the National Assembly, Guaido said he was aware of personal risks. “I don’t un- derestimate the threat of per- secution at the moment, but here we are,” he said. The U.S. has emerged as Guaido’s most powerful ally, announcing on Tuesday that it was giving him control of Ven- ezuela’s U.S. bank accounts. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo certified that Guaido has the authority to take control of any Venezu- elan government accounts at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York or any other U.S.- insured banks. He said the certification would “help Ven- ezuela’s legitimate govern- ment safeguard those assets for the benefit of the Venezu- elan people.” On Monday, the U.S. im- posed sanctions on Venezue- la’s state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA, that could potentially deprive the Maduro government of $11 billion in export revenues over the next year. Venezuela’s economy is already ravaged by hyper- inflation and widespread food and medical shortages that have driven millions of people to leave the country. Maduro called the sanc- tions “criminal” and vowed to challenge the U.S. in court. “With these measures, they intend to rob us,” he said. Violent street demonstra- tions erupted last week after Guaido declared during a huge opposition rally in Ca- racas that he had assumed presidential powers under the constitution and planned to hold fresh elections to end Maduro’s “dictatorship.” Under Venezuela’s consti- tution, the head of the Na- tional Assembly is empow- ered to take on the duties of the chief executive under a range of circumstances in which the presidency is va- cated. The opposition argues Maduro’s re-election last May was a sham. The previously little- known Guaido has re-invig- orated the opposition move- ment by pushing for three immediate goals: to end Mad- uro’s “usurpation” of power, establish a transitional gov- ernment and hold a new presidential election. In a tweet Wednesday, Trump repeated a travel ad- visory from the State Depart- ment, telling U.S. citizens not go to Venezuela. Trump also said there’s a “Massive pro- test expected today.” The U.N. human rights of- fice says security forces in Venezuela detained nearly 700 people in just one day of anti-government pro- tests last week – the highest such tally in a single day in the country in at least 20 years. It says more than 40 people are believed to have been killed. Opposition National Assembly President Juan Guaido, who declared himself interim president of Venezuela, speaks with the media upon his arrival to National Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday. - PHOTO: AP Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban, said Wednesday, that they are not seeking a monopoly on power in a future administration in Afghanistan but are looking for ways to co-exist with Afghan institutions. - PHOTO: AP9 WORLD®IONAL CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY JANUARY 31, 2019 A woman takes a snapshot by the border fence between San Diego, California, and Tijuana, as seen from Mexico. Funding for the border wall continues to be a major sticking point between the Trump Administration and congressional Democrats hoping to avoid another shutdown. - PHOTO: AP Trump says ‘wall’ must be part of lawmakers’ border deal Trump Organization to use E-Verify for worker status checks NEW YORK (AP) – The Trump Organization, responding to claims that some of its workers were in the U.S. il- legally, said on Wednesday that it will use the E-Verify electronic system at all of its properties to check em- ployees’ documentation. A lawyer for a dozen im- migrant workers at the Trump National Golf Club in New York’s Westchester County said recently that they were fired on Jan. 18. He said many had worked there for a dozen or more years. Workers at another Trump club in New Jersey came for- ward last month to allege managers there had hired them knowing they were in the country illegally. “We are actively engaged in uniforming this process across our properties and will institute E-verify at any property not currently uti- lizing this system,” Eric Trump, executive vice presi- dent of the Trump Organiza- tion, said in a statement pro- vided to The Associated Press. “As a company we take this obligation very seriously and when faced with a situation in which an employee has presented false and fraudu- lent documentation, we will take appropriate action.” “I must say, for me per- sonally, this whole thing is truly heartbreaking,” he added. “Our employees are like family but when pre- sented with fake documents, an employer has little choice.” Launched in 1996, the E- Verify system allows em- ployers to check documen- tation submitted by job applicants with records at the Department of Home- land Security and the Social Security Administration to see whether they are autho- rized to work. WASHINGTON (AP) – Capitol Hill negotiators are hopeful of an agreement as they of- ficially kick off talks on a homeland security spending bill stalled over funding for President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall. Left on their own, the sea- soned House and Senate law- makers say they could easily reach a border security deal as they have for two years in a row. But whether Trump would sign it is another matter altogether. Trump tweeted Wednesday morning, hours before the negotiators were to sit down for their first meeting, that the group of Republicans and Demo- crats is “Wasting their time!” if they aren’t “discussing or contemplating a Wall or Physical Barrier.” Democrats, who hold the House, remain united against Trump’s vision for a massive wall project, yet some are sig- naling a willingness to deal in the wake of the 35-day par- tial government shutdown. “We’ve consistently said that we do not support a me- dieval border wall from sea to shining sea,” said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York. “However, we are able to support fencing where is makes sense, but it should be done in an evi- dence-based fashion.” “We’ve come to big agree- ments before,” said the Sen- ate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer of New York. Schumer said “when the president stays out of the ne- gotiations we almost always succeed. When he mixes in, it’s a formula for failure. So, I’d ask President Trump, ‘Let Congress deal with it on its own.’” For their part, GOP leaders want to de-escalate the battle over the border wall and sug- gest they too could be flexible as bargainers, who hold their first session Wednesday, seek a bipartisan agreement. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Repub- lican of Kentucky, who pres- sured Trump last week to end the shutdown, warned the president against trig- gering another shutdown or declaring a national emergency on the South- west boundary, a move that could let him redirect budget funds to building segments of the wall. When asked to describe a border security agree- ment he’d support, McCon- nell said, “I’m for whatever works that would prevent the level of dysfunction we’ve seen on full display here the last month and also doesn’t bring about a view on the president’s part that he needs to declare a national emergency.” But broadening the scope of the talks to include broader immigration issues such as providing protection against deportation to “Dreamer” im- migrants brought illegally to the country as children – or even must-do legislation to increase the government’s borrowing cap – appeared to be fading. “I think this conference is going to be limited to the homeland security issues,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, Democrat of New York. A fresh, protracted crisis could make it difficult to tackle other upcoming busi- ness such as a deal to pre- vent cuts to the Pentagon and domestic agencies. The longest shutdown ever was initiated by Trump after Democrats refused his demand for $5.7 billion to build segments of his border wall. Polls show people chiefly blame Trump and Re- publicans for the shutdown and widely dislike the wall. The president surrendered last Friday and agreed to re- open government for three weeks so negotiators can seek a border security deal, but with no commitments for wall funds. If negotiations on the 17-member panel falter, one option would be to enact an- other temporary funding mea- sure to replace the current one, which expires Feb. 15. Trump has retreated in- creasingly from the word “wall” as it became apparent that he lacked the votes in Congress to win taxpayer financing for the project, which he initially said would be financed by Mexico. “I’m looking for safety and security over semantics,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told “Fox & Friends.” On Wednesday. “I don’t care what they call it, but it has to be a barrier. It has to protect.” White House spokes- woman Mercedes Schlapp said: “The president has per- fectly set this table for the negotiations with Congress. He wants to give Congress one more chance.” Democrats have repeat- edly said they would not fi- nance the wall, which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D- Calif., has called “immoral.” In recent weeks, they’ve ex- pressed support for fencing or physical barriers but have left ambiguous exactly what they would back. They’ve said they want to spend money on more border patrol agents and technology like scanning devices and drones. “What we aren’t going to do is use taxpayer money to fund a political ap- plause line,” said Rep. Kath- erine Clark, Democrat of Massachusetts. Groundskeepers work at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. - PHOTO: APNext >