Trinidad and Tobago declares state of emergency as killings increase
Trinidad and Tobago has declared a state of emergency as gang violence continues to rise in the Caribbean nation.
President Christine Carla Kangaloo issued the declaration on the advice of Prime Minister Keith Rowley, who was under increasing pressure to act on worsening crime figures.
The twin-island republic has the highest murder rate in Latin America and the Caribbean, with a record of more than 620 murders so far this year in its population of 1.5 million people.
Organized crime is responsible for the majority of killings, many of them linked to the international drug trade.
According to the US State Department, the country’s proximity to Venezuela, porous borders, and direct transportation routes to Europe and North America make it “a major location for trans-shipment of narcotics.”
In the latest violent incident, five people were shot dead at a shop in the poverty-stricken Laventille area on Sunday. Police believe the murders were in retaliation for the killing of a prominent gang member the previous day.
Details of the state of emergency have not yet been disclosed, but it is expected to be announced at a press conference later on Monday.
The move comes as Trinidad and Tobago prepares for general elections, which are scheduled to be held by August 2025.
Rowley’s ruling People’s National Movement party, in power since September 2015, faces a tough challenge from the opposition United National Congress led by former prime minister Kamala Prasad-Bissessar.
