Gang violence: Trinidad and Tobago declares state of emergency

Caribbean nation, Trinidad and Tobago has declared a state of emergency in response to escalating gang violence.

President Christine Carla Kangaloo issued the declaration on the advice of Prime Minister Keith Rowley, who has faced mounting pressure to curb the country’s worsening crime rate. 

With a record 620 murders reported so far this year, the twin-island republic, home to 1.5 million people, now ranks among the nations with the highest homicide rates in Latin America and the Caribbean.

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According to BBC,  majority of these homicides are linked to organised crime, much of it tied to the international drug trade. 

The US State Department has previously identified Trinidad and Tobago’s geographical position near Venezuela and its accessible transportation routes to Europe and North America as making it “a prime location for narcotics trans-shipment.”

The violence has reached alarming levels, with the latest incident on Sunday claiming the lives of five men in a shop in Laventille, a poverty-stricken area. Police attribute the killings to a reprisal for the murder of a prominent gang member the previous day.

Under the state of emergency, police will be granted enhanced powers, including the ability to “search and enter both public and private premises as necessary” and arrest individuals suspected of criminal involvement. 

According to a statement from the prime minister’s office, the measure aims to “address individuals who pose a threat to public safety, particularly those involved in criminal activities and the illegal use of firearms.” However, the government has stated there are no plans to impose a curfew at this stage.

The announcement also comes at a politically sensitive time, as Trinidad and Tobago gears up for a general election by August 2025. Prime Minister Rowley’s People’s National Movement, in power since 2015, is under pressure from the opposition United National Congress, led by former Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, to address the nation’s surging crime wave.