The director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Robert S Mueller III is expected to be in Trinidad today to hold discussions with top security and Government officials.
By Darryl HeeralalMueller will arrive in the country this morning and will leave in the afternoon.
However, neither Minister of National Security Martin Joseph, the United States Embassy in Port of Spain or the FBI's press office in Washington DC released any details of the visit.
The FBI said the travel plans and schedule of Mueller were never revealed to the public, while Robert Skinner at the US Embassy in Port of Spain would only confirm Mueller would be here "for the day".
Joseph would only say that Mueller would meet with "senior Government officials" and that his visit to Trinidad formed part of the crime-fighting plans as announced by Prime Minister Patrick Manning during his national budget presentation.
The Daily Express understands that the exact time of Mueller's arrival has also been withheld from top security officials in Trinidad who will only be informed of it "sometime in the morning".
Sources said Mueller is expected to meet with both Manning and Joseph and with the heads of the nation's top security agencies including the police, army and Special Anti-Crime Unit.
The meetings, sources said, are "likely" to take place at Manning's Whitehall office.
The Daily Express was told that security arrangements for Mueller were arranged by "his people".
Joseph said last night that the media are "more than likely" to be given a chance to meet Mueller.
During his budget presentation, Manning said that the "FBI will be targeted to establish a unit to assist with the reorganisation" of the Police Service.
Mueller's visit will hinge around this, sources said.
There are FBI agents working in Trinidad, but the Bureau has not established an office here.
Local police, mainly from the Anti-Kidnapping Squad, have received training from federal agents.
On Sunday, Manning said that discussions with the FBI had so far "gone quite well".
In a previous interview, US Ambassador Roy Austin said that several other countries had also requested FBI assistance, adding that the US has "only so much in terms of resources to go around". Austin had said that the FBI's help would be limited to advisory and training roles.
When Manning made his announcement seeking FBI help, president of the Police Service Social and Welfare Association Cedric Neptune said that the FBI's presence would help in the technical and administrative spheres but that it would do little to affect what happens on the ground.
Mueller was appointed FBI director on September 4, 2001 by US President George W Bush and is the sixth Bureau chief. Mueller, who is married and has two daughters, is a Vietnam veteran and was awarded the US Purple Heart and other top military awards.
He worked with the US Attorney General's office and US Attorney's Office.
As a prosecutor he was instrumental in the prosecution of mobster John Gotti, former Panamanian president Manuel Noriega and those responsible for the 1989 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Mueller was last Acting Deputy Attorney General before his appointment to the FBI.
