Warlord’s son stays in US jail

Charles McArthur Emmanuel, 29, also known as Charles “Chuckie” Taylor Jr, was arrested ten days ago after arriving at Miami International Airport from Trinidad. United States immigration officials said Emmanuel lied about the identity of his father on his application for the passport.

Emmanuel’s court-appointed attorney, Miguel Caridad, said at a brief hearing last Wednesday that he and federal prosecutors had agreed that Chuckie should remain in custody for the time being. United States Magistrate Judge John O’Sullivan accepted the recommendation.

No date was fixed for the next hearing, but Sunday Newsday was informed that the indictment must be returned by the Miami federal grand jury within 21 days of the criminal complaint — sometime before April 20.

How was the case made out against Chuckie?

Special Agent Christopher Malone swore to an affidavit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. He said Chuckie is a United States citizen who was born in Suffolk County, Boston, Massachusetts on February 12, 1977. His birth certificate showed his mother is Beatrice Yolanda Emmanuel, a former girlfriend of Charles Taylor. But his father was unnamed. Malone said that on June 1, 2005, a special agent interviewed one Roy Belfast who stated that he was born in Trinidad. He said Belfast confirmed that he and Bernice were married in Boston in 1983 or 1984, but the marriage ended in a divorce in 2004.

According to Belfast, prior to his union with Bernice, she dated Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia. Belfast said he became Chuckie’s adopted father in 1987 after he and Bernice moved to Florida.

Malone said that on June 3, 2005, the same special agent interviewed Bernice who confirmed that she had two children with Taylor, a daughter Zoe, and a son Charles, both of whom were born in Boston.

Malone said the agent reviewed Chuckie’s 1986 application for a US passport. In the passport application itself, he identified his father as Roy Belfast, date of birth, August 21, 1954. That agent spoke with official representatives from the US embassy in Port-of-Spain on March 29, 2006, and learnt that Chuckie’s US passport was renewed and provided to him on that day.

In Chuckie’s application dated March 15, 2006, he identified his father as Steven Daniel Smith, date of birth April 6, 1952, and listed Smith’s place of birth as St Vincent. Malone said Chuckie failed to identify Charles Taylor or Roy Belfast as his father on that application.

According to agent Malone, “it appears that on or about March 15, 2006 in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, Emmanuel declared under penalty of perjury that the statements contained in his application for a US passport were true and correct.” Under 22 CFR, Sec 51:20, all US passport applications are required to “truthfully answer all questions, and shall state each and every material matter of fact pertaining to his or her eligibility for a passport.”

On March 30, 2006, a special agent interviewed Armando Armandariz, Consul General, US embassy in Port-of-Spain. The Consul General stated that Chuckie’s false statements were not known to his office. He said had the nature of Chuckie’s family account be known, a consular officer would not have approved his application for a passport, a passport would not have been immediately issued, and further investigation would have been conducted. Travel records revealed that on July 31, 2003, Chuckie travelled on Liberian passport No 002858 from Paris, France to Trinidad through Dulles International Airport in Loudoun County, Virginia. He arrived on Air France, flight No 028 and departed for Trinidad on a BWIA flight.

On March 30, 2006, “Chuckie” boarded American Airlines flight 1668 from Trinidad and landed in Florida where he was arrested.

Charles Taylor, who was president of Liberia from 1997 to 2003, faces 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in a United Nations-backed special court for his alleged role in a civil war in neighbouring Sierra Leone. Taylor has pleaded not guilty. Chuckie was head of Liberia’s Anti-Terrorist Unit during his father’s term, with his responsibilities including training of soldiers on that force and providing security for Taylor.