On a quiet Thursday afternoon in Couva, Trinidad, a routine commute along Rivulet Road turned into a shocking crime scene that has left the local energy industry and law enforcement communities reeling. A 51-year-old senior manager at leading regional energy firm Proman Trinidad, Ricardo Diaz, was gunned down in his vehicle while traveling along the busy corridor.
Diaz, a long-time Arima resident who lived on Pinto Road, had built a 5-year career with Proman at the company’s Point Lisas Industrial Estate operations. Just six months before his death, he had earned a major career milestone: a promotion from procurement manager to head of the company’s procurement department, based out of one of Proman’s on-site warehouses.
According to initial police accounts, the tragedy unfolded shortly after Diaz left the Proman compound around 4:30 p.m. Fifteen minutes later, a passing motorist traveling westbound on Rivulet Road noticed Diaz’s black BYD Sealion 7 SUV parked stationary across the eastbound lane, near the National Energy facility, blocking the flow of traffic. Stopping to check if the driver needed assistance, the motorist made the horrific discovery: Diaz was slumped over the steering wheel, with multiple visible gunshot wounds. Empty bullet casings were scattered across the pavement near the vehicle.
Emergency services and local law enforcement were alerted immediately, and officers from the Couva Police Station arrived at the scene just 45 minutes after the motorist’s initial discovery. Responding officers PC Boodoosingh and PC Ramute confirmed that Diaz was already dead, with the SUV’s windows left down and the victim still in the driver’s seat. Diaz was formally pronounced dead at the location by responding authorities.
Specialized crime scene investigators from the Homicide Bureau of Investigations Region III were called in to process the site, where they recovered multiple pieces of forensic evidence, including several spent 9mm shell casings and an intact projectile. Diaz’s vehicle was later transported to the Special Evidence Recovery Unit facility in Cumuto for full forensic analysis to uncover additional clues.
As of the latest update, investigators have not yet identified a clear motive for the targeted killing. However, law enforcement officials confirmed that they have secured relevant surveillance video from the area and are currently reviewing the footage to identify potential suspects and establish a timeline of the attack.
Local media attempts to reach Proman Trinidad for an official statement on Diaz’s killing went unanswered as of yesterday. The fatal shooting has pushed Trinidad’s overall murder toll for the current year to 147. While this figure marks a 12-victim decrease from the 159 murders recorded on the same date last year, the high rate of violent crime remains a persistent pressing public concern. For the month of May alone, 25 people have been killed across the country as of yesterday, down slightly from 29 killings in the same month last year.