Trinidad and Tobago’s government declared a state of emergency on Dec. 30 over rising violence from organized criminal groups. The country recorded a record-high number of homicides in 2024, 42 percent of which were linked to gang-related activity, said National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds. What factors are driving Trinidad’s rising organized criminal activity? What tools are available to the country’s government and security forces in combating the crime wave? To what extent are other Caribbean nations experiencing similar increases in organized crime?
Winston Dookeran, former minister of foreign affairs of Trinidad and Tobago and retired professor of practice at the University of the West Indies: “Rising violence from organized criminal groups crossed the red line in Trinidad and Tobago. At the core of this complex issue is the ease of trafficking high-powered small arms and ammunition, an issue of global dimensions, with the Caribbean, located between North and South America, being an ‘open’ border. The United Nations, in recognition of this, formally enacted The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) in 2013 ‘to regulate the international trade of small arms and ammunition and reduce the illicit arms trade and improve regional security.’ Trinidad and Tobago offered to host the secretariat of the ATT, as the country is a strategic location for the growing trade of such weapons in the hemisphere. It had the full support of Caribbean countries. Regrettably, we lost the bid by a very narrow margin to Switzerland at a plenary session held in Mexico. I was Trinidad and Tobago’s foreign minister at the time and lamented the short sightedness of that decision. We had hoped that the United Nations would see it fit to locate a pillar of operation in Trinidad, to combat the regional trade in illicit small arms, but this did not happen. Rising violence from organized crime groups necessitates a ‘beyond the borders’ component—a global response—to the arsenal of state of emergencies that have been employed from time to time in the Caribbean. The ATT was a heroic step by the United Nations, but the follow-up to locate operations in places that are exposed is a major failing, and even the voices of the governments in this advocacy are no longer heard.”
Shelene Gomes, professor of social anthropology at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago: “Organized crime and gang-related violence are tied to broader socioeconomic conditions and specifically Trinidad and Tobago’s location as a transshipment point in the hemispheric drug trade. Seizures of illicit goods including drugs and weapons, at the ports and on private properties, are regularly reported on in the media. While this interception demonstrates the police at work, these are likely only a small fraction of the illicit goods passing through and circulating in the country. State responses to these challenges primarily focus on enhanced surveillance, interstate security cooperation, particularly with the United States, and the militarization of the police. However, this securitization approach offers short-term solutions to deeply rooted social and economic problems, including the increasing gap between the rich and the rest. Such fundamental problems are often obscured by nationalist rhetoric, encouraging the population to ‘hold strain’ for the good of the nation. Reducing state capture and enhancing social security programs, rather than introducing austerity measures, can address ingrained problems. Admittedly, most will not agree that social protections present a solution, but austerity has not proven favorable to collective well-being. Posing significant challenges to regional stability, the crime wave is also evident in tourism-dependent Caribbean countries. Jamaica recorded 34 murders in the first 11 days of 2025, according to the media. Recently in Barbados, and Antigua and Barbuda, the severity of gang warfare prompted heads of state to attempt to broker truces between rival gangs. Addressing systemic inequalities and prioritizing community initiatives could offer more durable solutions to the violence.”
Anthony T. Bryan, co-founder of the Caribbean Policy Consortium and professor at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago: “The Trinidad and Tobago Parliament on Jan. 13 extended the limited state of emergency by three months. Prime Minister Keith Rowley said the previous 15-day period was not sufficient to have had an impact on the crime situation. The state of emergency is a limited one to deal specifically with arms seizures in gang-infested areas. It does not provide for curfews or restrictions on movement for the public. As of Jan. 16, there has been a 44 percent reduction in homicides compared to 2024. Murders cannot be eliminated, but gang warfare and runaway crime can be reduced. One of the problems is the revolving door in which people who commit violent crimes easily obtain emergency bail and are released back into society. Every murder case costs taxpayers millions of dollars. The laws are not rigorous enough to deal with the cruelty of the criminals who are not afraid to engage law enforcement officers in shootouts. The proclamation of the state of emergency was preceded by 20 homicides in one week by gangsters using high-caliber weapons. It is now clear that the spiraling murder rate by these gangs is not driven just by the illicit drug trade and the culture of guns, but also by the presence of organized crime syndicates that provide destructive weapons in large quantities. The country’s security forces with combined police and military detachments are more than adequate to deal with the crime wave. Still, they also must deal with the export of lethal weapons from the United States to the Caribbean. Other Caribbean nations face the same dilemma as Trinidad and Tobago: the frequency of gun-related crime and the presence of organized crime.”
Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith, senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a founding fellow of the Caribbean Policy Consortium: “The state of emergency that President Christine Kangaloo declared on Dec. 30 and which Parliament extended for three months on Jan. 13 dramatically highlights six harsh realities facing the 1.5 million citizens of the twin-island republic. First, it dramatizes the deadly combination of gangs and guns, which, among other things, has resulted in a crime spiral evidenced in the high human toll: from 577 reported murders in 2023 to 624 last year, with about 43 percent of the 2024 figure being gang-related. Second, it spotlights the destructive role of illegal firearms, most of which are sourced from the United States, as reports from the Government Accountability Office and CSIS released last year reveal in relation to the Caribbean overall. Third, managing crime cannot be the sole responsibility of the security forces; a whole-of-society approach must be adopted, with key roles embraced by the private sector, civil society, religious institutions and the media. Similarly—and fourth—the transnational aspects involved means that the capabilities of state and non-state actors beyond Trinidad and Tobago must be engaged substantively and consistently. Fifth, the state of emergency and the circumstances that precipitated it make it evident that the nation with the distinction of giving the world the only acoustic musical instrument invented in the twentieth century—the steel pan—is facing a condition that I call ‘challenged sovereignty’ in a study with the same title. Finally, while the state of emergency might be necessary, it certainly is not sufficient to restore the desired individual and institutional safety and security in the nation.”
Marla Dukharan, Caribbean-based economist and advisor: “Organized crime is primarily fed by the illicit trade of drugs, weapons and humans. There has been a longstanding cross-border movement of all three, as well as fuel and (endangered) animals, from Latin America through the Caribbean, mainly making their way to the Global North. The payment for these commodities and humans then primarily moves back to Latin America. Governments from the region, including those of Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Barbados, have been known to ‘work with’ gangs in their own countries, using taxpayer resources to do so. We are paying taxes to be terrorized in our own homes, and the state is part of the problem, channeling these funds to the gangs through various ‘initiatives’ that have evidently failed. These governments need to be held accountable for spending that is obviously not yielding positive results. Caribbean governments that have clearly demonstrated over several years either an indisputable and embarrassing inability or a thinly veiled unwillingness to meaningfully address crime in their countries should have the decency to demit office for their failures. Second, the authorities in these countries should collectively agree to cede to the better-equipped U.S, U.K. or Interpol agencies and grant them the access necessary to remove criminal elements from our countries. For what use is our so-called ‘sovereignty’ when we, the people, are unable to live safely in our own homes? The state of emergency in Trinidad and Tobago gives special powers to a government already known for abusing its power. There will be no accountability whatsoever for the results—or lack thereof—of this intervention.”
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