Jan 16, 1979 • 1910 • Port of Spain-Georgetown • 0185

[Editor’s note: This document was released both as a State Department cable as part of its 1981 FOIA release, and as Serial 1673 of the FBI’s RYMUR release. The State Department release withheld two names associated with Peoples Temple from this cable. They are 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/1979PORTO00185_e.html. This URL may be available through the Wayback Machine.]

UNCLASSIFIED FB364
PAGE 01 PORT O 00185 162159Z
ACTION OCS-06
INFO OCT-01 ARA-15 ISO-00 FBIE-00 CIAE-00 INR-10 NSAE-00 INRE-00 DODE-00 TRSE-00 MCT-02 CA-01 SY-05 SYE-00 USSS-00 H-02 EB-08 SS-15 SSO-00 JUSE-00 ICAE-00 L-03 HA-05 PPT-01 FAA-00 DOTE-00 PA-02 /076 W
——————087389 162203Z /14

O 161910Z JAN 79
FM AMEMBASSY PORT OF SPAIN
TO AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN NIACT IMMEDIATE
INFO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3556
AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN PRIORITY
UNCLAS PORT OF SPAIN 00185
E.O. 12065: N/A
TAGS: CASC TD
SUBJ: TRAVEL OF PEOPLES’ TEMPLE MEMBER CHARLES TOUCHETTE
REF : PORT OF SPAIN 161, AND PREVIOUS

1. GOTT [GOVERNMENT OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO] HAS REFUSED PT MEMBER CHARLES TOUCHETTE PERMISSION TO REMAIN IN TRINIDAD WITH THE VESSEL ALBATROSS III, AND HE IS BEING DEPORTED TO GUYANA THIS EVENING. ETA GEORGETOWN AT 2330 HOURS ON BWIA FLIGHT 467.

2. TOUCHETTE INFORMED CONOFF JANUARY 16 THAT VESSEL WITH ITS GUYANESE CREW (INCLUDING PT MEMBER PHILIP BLAKEY) WILL DISCHARGE ITS CARGO IN PORT OF SPAIN WITHIN 2-3 DAYS. VESSEL IS THEN EXPECTED TO RETURN TO GEORGETOWN FOR DRYDOCK REPAIRS. ACCORDING TO TOUCHETTE, GEORGETOWN AGENT FOR THE ALBATROSS III (FERNANDES LIMITED) HAS RECEIVED ASSURANCE FROM GOG [GOVERNMENT OF GUYANA] AUTHORITIES THAT NEITHER VESSEL NOR CREW WILL EXPERIENCE ANY DIFFICULTIES WHEN THEY RETURN TO GUYANA. TOUCHETTE STATED THAT HE PLANS TO CONTINUE TO OPERATE THE ALBATROSS III BETWEEN GUYANA AND BARBADOS

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UNTIL CONTRARY INSTRUCTIONS ARE RECEIVED FROM PT LAWYERS IN SAN FRANCISCO AND PANAMA.

FOX [RICHARD J. FOX, JR., AMERICAN AMBASSADOR TO TRINIDAD]

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