Manning’s surprise return from Cuba

On December 22, 2008, at 8 am, I received a telephone call from a number I did not recognise. I usually do not answer blocked or unknown numbers but answered in this case as the number was displayed. The caller on the other end identified himself as the permanent secretary (PS) in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) and inquired whether it would be possible for me to come to OPM to discuss an urgent matter. I replied in the affirmative and immediately left my Piarco office, heading to Port of Spain.

As a courtesy, I was issued a temporary Priority Bus Route pass for my car which made my commute into Port of Spain a lot easier, given the morning westbound traffic.

It gave me time to think and my mind wandered like a lost mariner. Issues kept playing in my mind, the latter being more perplexing.

The first issue was the timing of the call. I concluded that the PS, as head of the public service, called me at 8 am because the expectation was public officials, especially the senior ones, would be on the job by that time.

The second issue was the mysterious nature of this urgent matter, which could not be discussed over the phone and required my personal presence at the OPM.

On arrival, I was immediately ushered into the PS’s office. I was told earlier that morning a call was received from Prime Minister Patrick Manning, who was in Cuba recuperating from surgery.

On December 11, 2008, Manning informed the nation through a media briefing that he had to undergo surgery at the Cimex Hospital in Havana, Cuba, to remove a malignant tumour in his left kidney, scheduled for December 17, 2008.

“Then there will be a two-week recuperation period before I return home sometime in early January,” Manning said.

Later in the evening, Manning accompanied by his wife, left for Cuba on COPA Airlines.

Manning informed the PS that he was returning to TT on Christmas Eve and only wanted three people to know. He identified the three people as the acting Prime Minister, Dr Lenny Saith, the PS and myself. The PS said Manning wanted me to arrange parking, ground handling, refuelling and security for the Russian-built YAK-40 trijet aircraft, scheduled to arrive at 1.30 pm on December 24. He also requested that I arrange a lunch for the flight crew and the medical staff accompanying him from Cuba to TT. I was also given the call sign for the aircraft.

After making copious notes of what I was required to do, I headed back to Piarco with a great sense of trepidation regarding the daunting responsibility of maintaining the confidentiality of the information in my possession. I questioned who would be blamed if this information leaked to the media.

On arrival at Piarco, I calculated the flight time from the Jose Marti Airport Cuba to Piarco and determined that the aircraft would be airborne at 10.15 am local time. I then held a meeting with Colonel Wendell Salandy, head of security at the AATT. I informed Salandy that I had a special mission which required a five-man AATT tactical security team. As a soldier true to his oath, Salandy never questioned the nature of the mission.

I scanned the TV news channels, read the daily newspapers and was relieved that there was no mention of Manning’s return.

On December 24, at 10.30 am, I gave Salandy a full briefing on the security requirements for the arrival of the YAK-40 trijet. Salandy accompanied me on a site visit to the domestic tarmac with the operations manager of a ground handling company to identify a parking position for the YAK-40 trijet.

At approximately 1 pm, Saith arrived with a special branch detail. We met in the VIP lounge. By that time, I had the TTCAA Aeronautical Information System Department (AIS) track the departure of the aircraft from Cuba. Using the Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication Network, the AIS can track all aircraft inbound into TT using the aircraft call sign. I informed Saith that the aircraft was late out of Havana and was expected to arrive at 4.15 pm.

Cuban President Raul Castro had come to see Manning at the Jose Marti Airport before his departure, delaying the flight. I contacted the caterer who was preparing a Trini Christmas lunch for the Cuban pilots and medical staff and arranged for the meal to be served at 5 pm at the TTCAA offices.

The YAK-40 trijet arrived at 4.20 pm and parked in the assigned gate position. Manning deplaned the aircraft and proceeded to his official vehicle. As he was about to enter the vehicle, he came back, putting his hand on my shoulder and asked if I had arranged lunch for the flight crew and medical personnel. I replied in the affirmative and he then said, “You are a person in whom I have absolute trust and confidence.” He then departed for the Diplomatic Centre where he was due to host a media briefing.

The Cuban crew, before their departure, expressed their appreciation for the sumptuous Christmas meal.

At around 6.30 pm the same day, I received a phone call from a senior AATT official who sought to upbraid me for not being informed about Manning’s return and was particularly incensed that Salandy, a subordinate, was privy to the information. I curtly informed the official to raise the matter with the Prime Minister.