After a weekend of violence in the Caribbean dual-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago, the government has declared a state of emergency, bringing the total number of homicides this year to 623.
Overnight, five men were shot in an estate on the outskirts of the capital, Port of Spain. On Saturday, a man was killed outside a police station. On Friday, a 57-year-old mother was shot to death while collecting her teenage son from the hospital in San Fernando.
Trinidad and Tobago is one of the most violent countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, with a population of 1.5 million. The unprecedented tally for 2024 is a testament to this.
The police and army have extensive authority to detain individuals without charge and search properties without warrants, as per the emergency powers announced by the office of the prime minister, Keith Rowley.
Rowley expressed his disappointment with the 2024 homicide count in a statement and urged the police to utilise their new authority to create a “uncomfortable” environment for criminals.
Stuart Young, the attorney general, stated at a press conference in Port of Spain that there would be no public curfew in effect at this time, despite the fact that Rowley’s absence was criticised by local media.
Young stated that the measures were implemented in response to a week of “brazen acts” by criminals in the country and that there was a looming threat of a wave of reprisal attacks on a “scale so extensive that it endangers public safety.”
“What we are confronted with is heightened criminal activity, as evidenced by the use of high-velocity assault weapons in reprisal attacks between gangs,” he stated, stating that there were “limited assurances” he could provide to a concerned public.
“It is not a matter of reducing the homicide rate; rather, it is a matter of anticipating brazen acts that will endanger the public,” he stated, despite acknowledging that crime rates have increased over the past decade of the government’s tenure.
In a proclamation, the president, Christine Kangaloo, stated, “I am satisfied that a public emergency has arisen as a consequence of an action that has been taken or is immediately threatened by a person, of such a nature and on such a large scale, as to be likely to endanger the public safety.”
The police have estimated that 42.6% of the murders are gang-related, and nearly all are associated with organised crime.
The most recent state of emergency to be declared in Trinidad and Tobago was in 2021 to accommodate restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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