GNV News January 8, 2025

On December 30, 2024, in Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean, a state of emergency was declared in response to a surge in homicides. With direct flights to Europe, the United States, and Canada, Trinidad and Tobago has become a “prime location” for drug transshipment, and international trafficking by gangs is flourishing. Turf wars between gangs have also intensified, and in 2024 alone, 623 people were killed by gunfire, the highest number in the past 11 years.

Trinidad and Tobago has been governed by the People’s National Movement for 47 years, and in particular the past decade has been plagued by government corruption and graft. The announcement comes as the country prepares for a tense election between Prime Minister Keith Rowley’s People’s National Movement and the opposition United National Congress. However, Prime Minister Keith Rowley did not attend the press conference regarding the state of emergency. National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds was also asked by reporters about resigning in light of the emergency, but he dismissed the question. There are claims that the decision is intended to conceal the ruling administration’s past failures on public security and avoid accountability.

Learn more about the Caribbean → “The Caribbean at the mercy of billionaires“

Learn more about drug trafficking and politics → “A country where drug trafficking casts a shadow over politics: Guinea-Bissau“

Trinidad and Tobago Police Headquarters (Photo: BBC World Service / Flickr [CC BY-NC 2.0])