Worst Black Hitlers Genocide Ever Of Blacks Trinidad and Tobago, once the wealthiest in the Caribbean, has been plagued by decades of poor economic and social leadership, gang violence, home invasions, murders and corruption.

Trinidad and Tobago’s streets are a bloodbath. Yet all our politicians offer are platitudes | Kenneth Mohammed

By Kenneth Mohammed, 14 hrs ago

The acting attorney general, Stuart Young, left, and minister of national security, Fitzgerald Hinds, hold a press conference about the state of emergency in Trinidad and Tobago. Photograph: Andrea de Silva/Reuters

Just before the new year, Trinidad and Tobago’s government declared a state of emergency after a weekend of gun violence.

Trinidad and Tobago, a country of about 1.5 million people and once the wealthiest in the Caribbean, has been plagued by decades of poor economic and social leadership, gang violence, home invasions, murders and corruption.

There is a human trafficking problem, with young women as the main target. It is a transhipment zone for cocaine and other illicit drugs moving from Colombia and other South American countries to the insatiable markets in the US, UK and Europe. It was ranked 76th out of 180 countries on the corruption perception index in 2023, and there has been no real improvement in years.

In a press conference teetering on the edge of absurdity, the minister of national security, Fitzgerald Hinds, and acting attorney general, Stuart Young, attempted to “elucidate” and to justify the government’s declaration of a state of emergency in response to escalating crime. Notably missing was the prime minister, Keith Rowley, whose absence was dismissed with the baffling claim that his presence would have been “inappropriate”. Equally glaring was the lack of accountability from Hinds himself, who remains in office despite presiding over the worst years of escalating crime in the islands’ history. Asked if he would resign over his record, Hinds allowed Young to dismiss the question for him.

This state of emergency feels less like a solution and more like an attempt to sidestep the hard questions of leadership and accountability

The ministers assured citizens that while their constitutional rights were now effectively suspended, they could rest easy knowing that Trinidad and Tobago’s Carnival 2025 in March could proceed unimpeded. No curfews or bans on public gatherings would be imposed, as the government’s “main intent” was to protect the economy. This was cold comfort to Trinidadians who have been living behind barred doors and windows under their own curfews while criminals roam free to make bloodbaths of the streets.

It is decisive action they need, not economic prioritisation.

The ministers leaned on platitudes, citing Rowley’s past expressions of “disappointment” at the crime situation. The police commissioner, Erla Harewood-Christopher, was also said to be “disappointed” with the crime rate – a sentiment echoed by citizens who question why expressions of disappointment seem to be the only tangible outcomes from those in power.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/jan/03/trinidad-tobago-politicians-state-of-emergency-gun-violence