Coast Guard sets up security around Miami FTAA meeting
The U.S. Coast Guard has set up temporary water-side security measures in the Miami seaport to protect officials attending the Free Trade Area of the Americas meeting Nov. 16-21.
The temporary regulation will restrict vessel movements in the vicinity of the northwestern entrance of Dodge Island, western section of Government Cut, Main Channel, Lummus Island Cut, Lummus Island Turning Basin, Dodge Island Cut, MacArthur Causeway Bridge, Claughton Island, Bayside Marine and on the Miami River up to the Flagler Street Bridge.
The security zones prohibit the entry of all vessels in the waters adjacent to the Intercontinental Hotel and the American Airlines Arena where the FTAA meeting will be held, the Coast Guard said.
The Coast Guard said it had “good cause” for implementing the security measures in Miami. “Cities that have recently hosted trade conferences similar to the FTAA conference have experienced significant property damage, and their law enforcement officers and public citizens have sustained personal injuries from a segment of protesters engaged in violent demonstrations against those conferences and their agendas,” the agency said.
Violent anti-trade protests occurred at the September World Trade Organization Ministerial in Cancun, Mexico; the G-8 Summit in Calgary, Canada; the 2001 G-8 Summit in Genoa, Italy, and the 1999 WTO meeting in Seattle.