In an official move aligned with global counter-terrorism frameworks, the government of Trinidad and Tobago has formally designated three Middle Eastern paramilitary and political organizations — Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — as proscribed terrorist entities. The designation, processed following formal applications submitted by the country’s Office of the Attorney General between April 8 and 9, was officially published in the national government gazette this Monday.
The listing is carried out under the country’s Anti-Terrorism Act, specifically Chapter 12:07, pursuant to Section 22B(3)(a) of the legislation. Accompanying the designation is a court order mandating an immediate freeze on all assets held or controlled by the three entities, regardless of whether ownership is full or partial, direct or indirect. This asset freeze extends to all proceeds generated from funds or property connected to the organizations, cutting off potential financial streams that could be used to support their activities.
Under the terms of the court order, an official copy must be served to Trinidad and Tobago’s Financial Intelligence Unit in compliance with the 1998 Civil Proceedings Rules. The Attorney General is further required to publish the full order alongside a notice of mandatory six-month reviews in the national gazette and two major daily newspapers within a seven-day window. Per Section 22B(9) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, the Attorney General will conduct a formal review of the designation every six months to ensure its continued relevance and compliance.
Gary Griffith, Trinidad and Tobago’s former national security minister and former police commissioner, has publicly thrown his support behind the new measures, framing the designation as a critical step to block terrorist organizations from exploiting local financial and governance systems to expand their regional and global operations. Griffith noted that this action builds on international counter-terrorism cooperation that was first formalized more than a decade ago.
In an interview with local media outlet Express, Griffith recalled that a United Nations counter-terrorism resolution targeting this very threat was first introduced in 2014, which garnered support from more than 100 countries around the world. The resolution’s core goal is to prevent terrorist groups from infiltrating sovereign states through front and affiliated organizations. Griffith explained that extremist groups routinely move illicit funds across borders through these underground affiliate networks. Those funds, he said, are typically used to train new recruits, scale up operational capacity, and lure young people to travel to the Middle East to train as foreign terrorist fighters, many of whom later return to their home countries to plan and carry out attacks.
The former security chief emphasized that adding these three organizations to the national terrorist list is a natural extension of early counter-terrorism commitments and “should be welcomed” by all stakeholders. At the same time, he raised alarm over growing pushback against the measures, questioning whether public resistance stems from sympathy for the proscribed terrorist groups.
Griffith also referenced a years-old debate on national counter-terrorism policy, pointing to what he called an “alarming” 2014 statement by former opposition leader Dr. Keith Rowley, who claimed that supporting international action against ISIS would put Trinidad and Tobago at increased security risk. Griffith pushed back against that claim, arguing that failing to address transnational terrorism carries far greater consequences. In his view, countries that choose to ignore the growing threat of terrorist infiltration create openings for extremist networks to establish a permanent domestic foothold.
“We cannot afford to deal with global terrorist problems by burying our heads in the sand and pretending it will go away,” Griffith said. He added that without updating and strengthening domestic financial regulations and cross-agency intelligence coordination, illicit terrorist funds could easily flow into the country and fuel the expansion of regional terrorist networks.
Griffith stressed that close, sustained collaboration between financial regulatory bodies and domestic intelligence agencies is non-negotiable to prevent extremist activity from taking root. He warned that without proactive intervention to block terrorist financing and infiltration, “it is only a matter of time before we are affected.” Closing his statement, the former minister reaffirmed that targeted actions like the new designation are essential to national security and deserve broad public and institutional support.