[Editor’s note: This document was released both as a State Department cable as part of its 1981 FOIA release, and as Serial 1512 of the FBI’s RYMUR release. At the request of the State Department, the RYMUR release made a single deletion in this serial. It is denoted below in red type.
[The text for this document was released in 2014 by the now-defunct Wikileaks website at https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1978PORTO03542_d.html. This URL may be available through the Wayback Machine.]
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PAGE 01
PORT O 03542 120753Z
ACTION L-03
INFO OCT-01 ARA-15 ISO-00 SCS-06 CA-01 FBIE-00 JUSE-00
/026 W
——————102332 122132Z /12
R 112051Z DEC 78
FM AMEMBASSY PORT OF SPAIN
TO AMEMBASSY CARACAS
AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN
INFO SECSTATE WASHDC 3362
UNCLAS PORT OF SPAIN 03542
FOR LEGATT
E.O. 12065: N/A
TAGS: CASC TD OREP GY
SUBJ: PEOPLE’S TEMPLE (PT) INVESTIGATION
REF : A. CARACAS 11496 (NOTAL); B. CARACAS 11530 (NOTAL)
1. Embassy has been advised that bank records in Trinidad and Tobago are not repeat not public records and can only be obtained by court order.
2. Members of People’s Temple who arrived in Trinidad on “Albatross III” on purchasing trip prior to Jonestown incident recently informed embassy that an account for approximately $60,000 (TT [Trinidad and Tobago]) had been opened at Barclays bank, Port of Spain. Purpose of account was allegedly to cover purchases and expenses related to the “Albatross III” and authorized signatory was Helen Swinney, one of four members of PT who arrived on board the vessel. They claimed that the account was closed on December 8 and they professed to have no knowledge of any other accounts in Trinidad.
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PORT O 03542 120753Z
3. For Georgetown: According to Richard Janaro, purchasing agent for PT on board the “Albatross III,” Paula Adams and Deborah Touchette [name initially withheld by State] handled all external accounts for the PT. They purportedly opened the account here through a transfer with Barclays in Georgetown.
Fox [Richard J. Fox, Jr., American Ambassador to Trinidad]
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