Carib Scope

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  • Power Restored to Belmont #3 Feeder Areas After Crash-Related Outage

    Power Restored to Belmont #3 Feeder Areas After Crash-Related Outage

    An unexpected widespread power outage triggered by a vehicular accident that damaged a critical utility infrastructure has been fully resolved, with electricity restored to all affected residential and commercial communities, according to an official update from the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) Electricity Business Unit.

    The outage originated when the crash compromised a key utility pole, cutting service to all customers connected to the Belmont #3 Feeder. The affected zone spanned a wide geographic area, including segments of All Saints Road west of the local substation, as well as the communities of Briggins, Grays Hill, Whenner Road, Upper Desouza Road, Upper Tindale Road, Belmont, Cashew Hill, Bendals Road, Golden Grove, Nut Grove, Bendals and Bathlodge.

    Almost immediately after receiving reports of the incident, APUA mobilized a team of trained technical crews to the site. The technicians prioritized public safety while carrying out urgent repairs to reverse the damage and bring power back online for impacted users.

    While service has been restored for the vast majority of customers in the affected area, APUA has noted that a small number of users may still experience intermittent power interruptions. Any customer continuing to face service disruptions is encouraged to reach out to the authority’s dedicated fault reporting hotline at 311 to report their issue and request additional assistance.

    In its public statement, the regional utility provider issued a formal apology to all customers inconvenienced by the unplanned outage, and extended gratitude to the community for their understanding and patience during the repair and restoration process.

  • COMMENTARY: Cultivating Community through Art

    COMMENTARY: Cultivating Community through Art

    Art has captivated human imagination for centuries, rooted in a linguistic history stretching back to ancient Rome. The term ‘art’ traces its origins to the Latin word ‘ars’, meaning skill, craft, or creative expression, with its first recorded use appearing in 13th-century European manuscripts. Far more than a niche academic discipline or elite pastime, art is fundamentally a deeply personal reflection of an artist’s perspective, whose meaning is shaped by the unique interpretations of every viewer. This inherent subjectivity is what gives art its enduring intrigue: no two people will ever draw the exact same meaning from a single work, making every encounter with art a new, personal experience. Beyond individual interpretation, art acts as a powerful cross-cultural bridge, capable of connecting people across generations, ethnic divides, and different religious backgrounds. When interpreted within its proper cultural context, art fosters shared dialogue rather than division, embodying a natural neutrality that transcends social and political boundaries.

    In recent decades, education leaders have increasingly recognized art’s transformative role in holistic learning, moving beyond outdated models that framed art as an extracurricular afterthought. The integration of art into core curricula through initiatives like STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics) education has redefined how students learn, turning creative expression into a tool to drive inquiry, critical thinking, and cross-disciplinary problem-solving. Research and educational practice have shown that this interdisciplinary approach boosts reading proficiency and sharpens cognitive acuity, benefiting students across all subject areas, not just creative pursuits. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) reinforces this perspective, noting that art nurtures global creativity, innovation, and cultural diversity, while acting as a catalyst for knowledge sharing, curiosity, and open dialogue. To protect these inherent benefits, UNESCO emphasizes that societies must actively promote and defend artistic freedom; when artists are able to create without constraint, art becomes a foundational building block for more free, peaceful, and inclusive global communities.

    In 2019, UNESCO formalized this global commitment to art by proclaiming April 15 as World Art Day, a global observance designed to celebrate artistic creation, expand access to creative expression, and strengthen the ties between art and society. The date of April 15 was intentionally selected to honor Leonardo da Vinci, one of history’s most iconic creative visionaries, who remains a global symbol of freedom of expression, tolerance, and universal brotherhood. Each year, the observance highlights artists’ indispensable contributions to sustainable development, raises awareness of the diversity of global artistic expressions, and spotlights the critical role of arts education in building inclusive, equitable school systems. For 2026, World Art Day has adopted the theme “A Garden of Expression: Cultivating Community Through Art”, which frames art as a collective, growing practice: just as a garden flourishes when tended by a whole community, art thrives when it is shared and nurtured collectively, fostering connection, unity, and shared cultural belonging among groups of people with common purpose.

    Celebrating World Art Day is accessible to everyone, regardless of whether one identifies as a professional artist or a casual art enthusiast. One of the most common ways to mark the day is to visit local art exhibitions or museums, many of which host special themed events or offer discounted admission to welcome new audiences. For those inclined toward hands-on participation, World Art Day is the perfect opportunity to explore personal creativity, whether that means experimenting with painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, or any other medium that sparks curiosity. Even first-time creators often find the process of making art to be deeply fulfilling, as iconic American artist Georgia O’Keeffe once captured: “I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for.” For those looking to learn and connect, local art studios and community centers frequently host special workshops and classes for World Art Day, giving attendees the chance to build new creative skills, refine existing techniques, and build connections with other creators in their local area.

    As societies continue to grapple with division and polarization, the case for greater public investment in art and arts education grows ever stronger. When we prioritize art—whether in our schools, our communities, or our public policy—we don’t just support creators; we nurture the qualities that help peaceful, free societies flourish: curiosity, creativity, dialogue, and belonging.

  • Latest Voter ID Replacement Update

    Latest Voter ID Replacement Update

    The Electoral Commission of Antigua & Barbuda has released its latest official progress update for April 2026, confirming that more than half of all eligible voters across the country have successfully finished replacing their outdated voter identification cards. The ongoing national card replacement initiative, a key preparatory step for upcoming electoral processes, shows uneven but broadly steady progress across the country’s 17 parliamentary constituencies, with completion rates ranging from just over the 50% threshold to a high of 87% in the northern parish of St Peter.

    To date, the commission has processed a cumulative total of 29,427 replacement applications, with 6,076 of those requests completed in the month of April alone. Breaking down weekly activity for the period 12 to 18 April, the body recorded 2,105 finalized replacement applications, with most of the week’s work concentrated in the first three working days. Daily data shows that April 13 saw the highest volume of processed applications, at 793, followed by 605 completed requests on April 14 and 501 on April 15. No application processing activity was documented from April 16 through 18, consistent with standard public service operational schedules in the country. Alongside the replacement of existing voter cards, the commission also accepted and processed 257 applications from first-time eligible voters seeking to register on the national electoral roll during that same seven-day window.

    Beyond the parish-level standings, the weekly data reveals particularly strong engagement across both urban and rural constituencies located within the St John’s electoral district. Two constituencies in the area, St John’s Rural West and All Saints West, posted some of the highest weekly application processing totals nationwide, outperforming many other regions. At the lower end of the completion spectrum, two constituencies — St Mary’s North and St John’s Rural West — sit just above the 50% mark, with 54% and 55% of eligible voters having completed the replacement process respectively. After St Peter’s leading 87% completion rate, the island of Barbuda ranks second at 76%, followed closely by St Philip North at 75%. Most constituencies have now crossed the 55% completion threshold, marking consistent forward momentum for the national initiative.

    Electoral officials have not yet announced a formal final deadline for the card replacement process, but they continue to actively urge all eligible voters to complete their applications as soon as possible. The program is gradually moving toward full national coverage, with officials working to expand outreach and processing capacity to bring remaining unregistered eligible voters into the system ahead of any upcoming electoral events.

  • Barbados power past Antigua to stay unbeaten

    Barbados power past Antigua to stay unbeaten

    The Jean Pierre Under-16 Netball Championships, hosted in Trinidad, has seen one undisputed standout through its first four rounds of competition: Barbados’ junior national squad, nicknamed the Baby Gems. The team has maintained a perfect unbeaten streak, closing out their latest match with a statement victory that underscores their early dominance in the regional tournament.

    In their fourth outing of the competition, the Baby Gems delivered a commanding 39–13 win against Antigua and Barbuda. From the opening whistle, Barbados seized full control of the court, never once ceding the lead to their opponents. They set an aggressive pace early, building a 12–3 advantage by the end of the first quarter, and steadily expanded their gap over the following two periods. By halftime, the scoreboard read 23–7 in favor of Barbados, which stretched further to 32–9 heading into the final quarter, allowing the team to close out the match comfortably without any late-game pressure.

    This latest win follows a series of solid performances that have kept the squad’s unbeaten record intact. Just one day before their defeat of Antigua and Barbuda, the Baby Gems notched their third victory against the Cayman Islands, finishing with a 42–17 final score. Mirroring their consistent pattern of play, Barbados held the lead from start to finish in that match, going up 8–4 after the first quarter, 21–6 at the half, and 33–11 by the end of the third period before wrapping up the win.

    On the opening day of competition, held at the University of the West Indies St. Augustine campus, the Baby Gems kicked off their campaign with two back-to-back wins. On Monday, they secured a 23–15 triumph over Dominica after a controlled, steady performance. Though their lead narrowed slightly to 11–8 at halftime and 18–13 after three quarters, Barbados pulled away in the final frame to seal the result. Their tournament opener, played against Grenada, ended in a 20–12 win to launch the squad’s undefeated run.

  • OP-ED: CARICOM and the new normal in international politics

    OP-ED: CARICOM and the new normal in international politics

    As the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) marks its 50th Conference of Heads of Government, the 56-year-old regional bloc finds itself facing the most severe test of its unity in modern history, pushed to breaking point by shifting great power dynamics that have reopened deep foreign policy divides among member states. The moment of crisis comes as St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Terrance Drew stepped into the six-month rotating CARICOM chairmanship in January 2026, tasked with bridging growing fractures that have undermined the bloc’s longstanding diplomatic cohesion at a time of unprecedented global upheaval.

    The core source of tension stems from competing responses to the so-called “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine, a policy framework that has reignited great power competition in the Caribbean and split the 14 sovereign member bloc into two opposing camps. For most small CARICOM states, the doctrine, which has been implemented through heavy-handed U.S. security and foreign policy actions, raises deep alarms: it contradicts the bloc’s foundational commitment to the UN Charter, multilateral cooperation, and sovereign equality, principles that are the primary protection for small states in an anarchic international system.

    But a small subset of members has broken ranks to align fully with Washington. Trinidad and Tobago, under Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, has openly backed U.S. policy across multiple flashpoints: it supported the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran (now paused by a fragile ceasefire), endorsed U.S. anti-narcotics military operations in the Caribbean that targeted the Venezuelan Maduro regime, and welcomed Maduro’s capture by U.S. forces. In return, Washington has deepened bilateral security cooperation with Port-of-Spain and admitted it into the high-profile Shield of the Americas initiative, joining only Guyana as the second CARICOM member in the bloc. This split has eroded mutual trust across the regional grouping, opening a diplomatic rift that has persisted for months.

    When Drew assumed the chairmanship, he prioritized mending these divides to ensure a successful 50th Heads of Government Conference, held in February 2026. To lay the groundwork, he launched a series of one-on-one high-level engagements with regional leaders, aiming to rebuild goodwill and create space for productive dialogue. Drew’s efforts achieved a partial victory: all 14 heads of government attended the summit, though three departed early before the closed-door leadership retreat, a key session focused on geopolitical reform.

    Despite the divisions, CARICOM members were able to close ranks on limited issues, including longstanding policy toward Cuba. On the sidelines of the summit, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held talks with CARICOM leaders, resulting in an agreement to develop a new bilateral cooperation framework, which was formalized in a joint statement on regional engagement. The summit also reaffirmed a core principle of CARICOM: as Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness emphasized in opening remarks, citing the 2013 Rose Hall Declaration, CARICOM is a community of sovereign states bound by shared purpose rather than forced uniformity, a pragmatic approach shaped by historical skepticism of ceding authority to supranational institutions.

    Holness acknowledged the growing gap between the accelerating pace of global change and the bloc’s ability to coordinate regional responses, a challenge that has defined the current moment. Even so, the summit was widely framed as a limited success for chair Drew and the bloc – until a new controversy erupted over the reappointment of incumbent CARICOM Secretary-General Carla Barnett to a second term starting August 2026.

    Drew first announced Barnett’s reappointment on March 25, 2026, triggering a public dispute that has deepened existing divides. The impasse extends far beyond procedural questions, opening up broader debate about CARICOM’s governance structures. As of mid-April 2026, neither side has backed down: public diplomatic correspondence from Trinidad and Tobago Foreign Minister Sean Sobers (dated April 9) and Drew (dated April 11) show positions have hardened, with many remaining members forced to navigate a diplomatic tightrope between the two camps. High-level mediation efforts are ongoing, but no immediate resolution is in sight.

    For regional analysts, the current crisis is not an isolated incident, but part of a longer pattern of tension sparked by great power interference in the Caribbean. A key historical parallel is the 1983 U.S. invasion of Grenada, which created lasting rifts within the bloc. Today, the resurgence of sphere-of-influence politics directly undermines the post-WWII international order’s cornerstone of multilateral cooperation, presenting an existential challenge to small Caribbean states that rely on the UN Charter to defend their sovereignty.

    While the 50th summit delivered much-needed discussion of geopolitical challenges and the bloc’s core identity, CARICOM now faces an urgent imperative: to work through its deepening divides and adapt to the new normal of 21st century great power competition. For small Caribbean nations, the stakes could not be higher: failure to navigate this moment could permanently erode the regional unity that has served the bloc for more than five decades.

    *This analysis reflects the personal views of Nand C. Bardouille, Ph.D., manager of The Diplomatic Academy of the Caribbean at The University of the West Indies St. Augustine Campus, and was originally published by the Jamaica Gleaner on April 16, 2026.*

  • ‘Disgraceful silence’ from foreign ministers

    ‘Disgraceful silence’ from foreign ministers

    A deepening transparency crisis has rocked the Caribbean Community (Caricom), as Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has leveled explosive allegations of corrupt backroom dealing against the regional bloc’s leadership, centered on the controversial reappointment of Secretary-General Dr. Carla Barnett.

    At the heart of the controversy is a bombshell revelation from Persad-Bissessar: the official April 11 statement defending Barnett’s reappointment, published publicly under the name of Caricom Chairman and St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew, was actually written by Barnett herself. Document metadata shared by the prime minister confirms Barnett as the statement’s original author, a revelation Persad-Bissessar argues exposes the fundamental conflict of interest plaguing the bloc’s decision-making process.

    The dispute stretches back to the February 2026 Caricom Heads of Government Conference held in St. Kitts and Nevis. Persad-Bissessar attended the opening sessions and departed on February 25, leaving Foreign Minister Sean Sobers to lead the Trinidad and Tobago delegation. On the morning of the scheduled closed-door Nevis retreat on February 26, a WhatsApp message sent by Barnett to the Caricom Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) chat group – which all regional foreign ministers, including Sobers, are members of – clearly stated that Chairman Drew had ordered the retreat to be restricted to heads of government only, barring all ministers from attending. This directly contradicts Drew’s later claim that Sobers was invited to the retreat and declined to attend due to seasickness, a claim Sobers formally refuted in an April 9 letter.

    Persad-Bissessar has lambasted the entire Caricom foreign minister corps for what she calls their “deliberate and disgraceful silence” in the wake of this exposed contradiction. All COFCOR members have access to the unaltered February 26 WhatsApp message confirming the disinvitation, yet none have stepped forward to confirm Sobers’ account. This collective silence, the prime minister says, amounts to active complicity in smearing the foreign minister’s reputation to cover up procedural misconduct.

    Trinidad and Tobago’s core objections stretch beyond the conflicting narratives about the disinvitation. The reappointment was never listed on the official public agenda for the conference, and no reference to the decision appeared in the March 1 joint communiqué or the March 2 official summary of Caricom decisions published after the meeting. It was not until March 25 that Drew formally announced Barnett’s second five-year term, set to begin when her current term expires in August 2026, following a vote by a majority of heads of government held during the closed-door retreat.

    Persad-Bissessar has drawn sweeping conclusions about the state of Caricom’s leadership, describing the bloc’s secretariat as “dysfunctional, dishonest and incompetent.” She argues that the opaque process is the inevitable outcome of a system where political allies, party loyalists, and relatives of regional politicians are appointed to top management roles to preserve a decades-old “old boys club” status quo that benefits regional business and political elites, rather than appointing independent, competent technocrats. What Caricom frames as core ideals of regional integration, integrity, and inclusion, she says, is just a “smoke screen” for behind-the-scenes deals that prioritize keeping aligned political parties in power across the region and exclude unaligned groups from the entrenched political establishment.

    In a statement to local media, Foreign Minister Sobers backed the prime minister’s campaign, calling the situation “intolerable” and a “profoundly sad moment for the Caribbean people.” He emphasized that no amount of public relations spin can distract from the core facts: Trinidad and Tobago was deliberately excluded from the retreat, the reappointment was never added to the official agenda, and the entire process violated the procedural requirements laid out in the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, Caricom’s founding legal document.

    Despite the scathing criticism, Persad-Bissessar has repeatedly emphasized that Trinidad and Tobago has no plans to leave the regional bloc, which it helped found 52 years ago and has heavily invested in over decades. “We helped build this organisation and will be a part of fixing it to benefit all the people of Caricom,” she said, adding that the country’s economic, security, and development future is deeply tied to the bloc’s success.

    The prime minister has vowed to continue escalating the matter publicly and aggressively until two demands are met: full accountability for all actors involved in the opaque reappointment process, and sweeping institutional reforms to guarantee future fairness, transparency, accountability, and non-interference in the domestic politics of member states. She has noted that even small local bodies like village councils and sports clubs keep formal, timestamped meeting minutes and performance records, and Caricom, as a 52-year-old regional institution, has no excuse for failing to produce the documentation she has requested about the reappointment process, which includes communications, meeting minutes, and performance appraisals for Barnett.

    A full timeline of the unfolding controversy tracks a steady escalation of tensions over two months: the initial exclusion at the February retreat, the first public announcement of the reappointment in late March, repeated formal requests for documentation from Trinidad and Tobago that went unanswered, an emergency Caricom virtual meeting that Trinidad and Tobago boycotted over the lack of transparency, and the most recent bombshell revelation that Barnett authored her own defense statement released under the chairman’s name.

  • Mother: He did not deserve that

    Mother: He did not deserve that

    A shocking, senseless act of violence has cut short the life of a young Trinidadian farmer just months after he and his brother launched their new agricultural venture. On Tuesday, 34-year-old Kamal Richard Mohammed, a father of two young children, was ambushed and shot in the head while working on a cultivated plot off Manohar Trace, Rochard Road in Barrackpore, local law enforcement and eyewitnesses confirm.

    According to official police accounts, the attack unfolded around midday. The unidentified gunman, riding a bicycle, approached Mohammed on the agricultural land, drew a concealed firearm, fired a single shot at the farmer, and immediately fled west along an unpaved dirt track. First responders were alerted swiftly, and Mohammed was carried to a waiting vehicle by his relatives and colleagues for emergency transport. Along Papourie Road, the Emergency Health Services ambulance took over the patient transfer and rushed him to San Fernando General Hospital. Despite rapid medical intervention, Mohammed was pronounced dead at approximately 1:20 p.m.

    By Tuesday afternoon, investigators had located a key piece of evidence: a red and black mountain bike matching the gunman’s description was abandoned at the side of the road near Manohar Trace, confirming details from eyewitness accounts.

    Mukesh Mahase, a long-time employee of the Mohammed family who was present at the farm alongside Kamal and his brother Rasheed during the attack, shared his harrowing recollection of the incident with reporters. Mahase said he had been kneeling and tending to pumpkin crops when he heard three gunshots ring out across the farm. Lifting his head, he spotted the masked attacker on the trail. “I said, ‘Who is you?’ The man start to ride that bike real speed,” Mahase recalled. He described the gunman as wearing a long-sleeved garment with his full face covered, riding a mountain bike matching the model police later recovered.

    After the shooter fled, Mahase said Rasheed came running from the area of the farm’s pond, shouting that Kamal had been shot near the water pump. “It was blood like that. I raised his head and put it on his brother’s knee. The next brother run with a towel and they start to make calls,” Mahase said, emphasizing that the family has never been involved in conflict with anyone in the community. “We don’t trouble nobody, we don’t have nothing with nobody in the trace. Them is good soldiers. I know him as a little brother in front of me. They killed an innocent man.”

    At the Mohammed family home on Wednesday, grief hung heavy over the entire household as Kamal’s elderly parents mourned their slain son. Seventy-three-year-old Sackeer Mohammed and 63-year-old Leela Mohammed told reporters their son had never mentioned receiving threats before the attack, and there had never been any prior violent incidents targeting him or his brothers.

    Leela explained that the farming venture was new for her sons: just last year, an elderly local man who had long managed the parcel of land hired Kamal and his brother to clear, prepare, and cultivate the plots. The brothers had spent months working tirelessly to get the farm ready, only planting their first full crops earlier this year.

    “He did not deserve that (death). He did not trouble anybody. He would go to work and he loved to exercise and eat healthy,” Leela said, her voice breaking as she spoke of Kamal’s two young children, aged four and six. “His children have been asking for him, and we do not know how to tell his children that he died.”

    As of Wednesday, detectives from the Region Three Homicide Bureau of Investigations have not identified any confirmed motive for the killing, and the investigation remains ongoing.

  • Marvin mum on reports John-Bates helped key witness

    Marvin mum on reports John-Bates helped key witness

    Trinidad and Tobago’s governing People’s National Movement (PNM) has announced it will withhold public comment on growing allegations that opposition Senator Janelle John-Bates improperly provided assistance to a star witness during closed proceedings of the country’s Public Accounts and Administration Committee (PAAC).

    The witness at the center of the controversy is former health minister Terrence Deyalsingh, who is a key figure in the PAAC’s ongoing inquiry into state-run pharmaceutical procurement, covering the full process of importing and approving medical drugs for public use. Unconfirmed claims state that John-Bates helped draft Deyalsingh’s formal statement ahead of his submission to the oversight committee. Following the emergence of these allegations, the PAAC took the step of adjourning its scheduled Monday meeting to reset the course of the ongoing inquiry.

    Opposition Chief Whip Marvin Gonzales laid out the PNM’s official stance on the developing situation during a press briefing hosted Tuesday at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition in Port of Spain’s Charles Street. Gonzales, who also serves as the Member of Parliament for the Arouca/Lopinot constituency, was joined at the briefing by two fellow PNM parliamentarians: Symon de Nobriga, representative for Diego Martin Central, and Stuart Young, who holds the Port of Spain North/St Ann’s West seat.

    Gonzales explained that the PAAC operates as a permanent joint select committee tasked with scrutinizing governance practices within Trinidad and Tobago’s pharmaceutical sector. He emphasized that as a matter of parliamentary protocol, neither party representatives nor the general public are permitted to publicly discuss active matters under review by the committee, particularly proceedings that are held in private, or in camera.

    Noting he is not a sitting member of the PAAC, Gonzales stressed that he has no access to the closed committee proceedings, and his only awareness of the allegations comes from local daily newspaper reporting. He added that parliamentarians bound to the joint select committee are explicitly barred from commenting on active in camera matters under the Parliament’s Standing Orders.

    “Based on what has been reported in the media, this alleged incident is understood to have taken place just one or two days ago, and we do not currently have access to a full, verified set of facts related to this case,” Gonzales said. “We must exercise extreme caution to avoid violating the Standing Orders of Parliament and facing contempt sanctions. Once all relevant information is obtained through official, proper channels, the PNM will move forward with whatever action is deemed appropriate for the circumstances.”

  • Saydee comes home

    Saydee comes home

    One week after 7-year-old Angelica Saydee Jogie lost her life in a tragic jet ski collision at Tobago’s Pigeon Point Heritage Park, her remains were transported back to mainland Trinidad on an evening flight, accompanied by her grieving immediate family.

    Angelica’s parents, Arnold and Salisha Jogie, and her older sister Angelina Sophie, touched down at Piarco International Airport alongside the child’s body. Contrary to initial expectations of an immediate return to the family’s Barrackpore residence on Cemetery Street, relatives confirmed the group traveled directly to a Penal funeral home, where Angelica’s body will be held ahead of her Saturday funeral service.

    The first-grade student from San Fernando TML Primary School was swimming with her family near the popular heritage park when the out-of-control jet ski struck her two Wednesdays prior. Three family members were injured in the incident: Angelica, her father, and her uncle Darren Jogie. All three were rushed to Scarborough General Hospital for emergency care, but Angelica succumbed to her wounds shortly after arrival. A post-mortem examination confirmed her death was caused by multiple severe traumatic injuries sustained in the collision.

    In the days following the tragedy, the 32-year-old jet ski operator, a resident of Tobago’s Canaan Feeder Road, was taken into police custody the day after the incident. As of this week, senior law enforcement sources told the Trinidad Express that investigators are finalizing their case file, which will soon be submitted to Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard to decide whether criminal charges will be filed against the operator. The suspect remains in detention as the inquiry concludes.

    Since Angelica’s death, family members have gathered nightly at the Barrackpore home to grieve and honor the young girl. Angelica’s grandmother Radica Jogie has led daily prayer sessions and bhajan singing, with Angelica’s parents participating virtually until their return to the mainland this week. On Saturday, a funeral service will be held at the family home, followed by cremation at the Shore of Peace cremation site. Earlier this week, Oropouche East Member of Parliament Dr Roodal Moonilal visited the grieving family to light a memorial candle, offer prayers, and extend condolences. Moonilal noted that he had been deeply moved by the outpouring of community support for the Jogie family, highlighting the remarkable unity and compassion the neighborhood has shown in the face of devastating loss, and added that the family remains in the thoughts of people across the constituency and the entire nation.

    Over the weekend, hundreds of community members, religious leaders and civil society organizers gathered for a public candlelight vigil to mourn Angelica, where attendees pushed for tighter safety regulations at the country’s coastal recreational areas and called on the national government to prioritize child water safety.

    In the wake of her daughter’s death, Salisha Jogie has made an urgent public call for a full ban on jet ski operations in recreational swimming areas across Tobago. In an interview with the Express last week, she said, “My request is I want something to be done for those jet skis in that area in Tobago because this must always be remembered in such a way that it should never happen again, and something must be put in place for those jet skis to be removed. I don’t want them, I don’t want anyone to have to feel the pain that I am feeling right now.” She emphasized that her daughter’s senseless death must serve as a permanent wake-up call to prevent similar tragedies from striking other families.

    Reginald Mac Lean, head of the Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association, has joined Jogie in calling for a full ban, describing unregulated jet skis as “ticking time bombs” that pose an unacceptable threat to beachgoers. “They are ticking time bombs and they need to be gotten rid of; too many people around have been severely damaged and others have been killed. If these individuals are not willing to keep these jet skis out of the areas where they are not supposed to go, they should be banned completely from Trinidad and Tobago,” Mac Lean told reporters. He added that there are a wide range of alternative, far safer water activities that tourists and locals can enjoy without putting lives at risk.

  • Fire damages home linked to abuse case

    Fire damages home linked to abuse case

    A suspicious early-morning fire has gutted the interior of a $1.98 million residential property linked to the high-profile alleged false imprisonment and assault of a domestic worker in southern Trinidad, law enforcement and fire officials confirmed this week. The blaze broke out just after 6 a.m. Wednesday at the three-bedroom concrete home located on Deosaran Trace, San Francique in Penal, with local investigators now leaning toward arson as the cause, believing a Molotov cocktail was thrown through one of the property’s bedroom windows to ignite the fire. Neighbors were the first to spot thick smoke billowing from the residence, and they quickly alerted emergency responders, who arrived on scene within minutes to contain the spread of the flames. While firefighters successfully prevented the fire from destroying the entire structure, saving the majority of the building’s exterior and outer structure, the entire interior of the home was completely destroyed by the blaze. When local media outlet Express visited the scene Thursday morning, fire investigators and police officers were still conducting forensic examinations and collecting evidence at the damaged property. One anonymous local resident, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, described the unnaturally quiet start to the emergency, saying, “I just walked outside and saw the smoke. It was surprising because I didn’t hear any noises or anything. Other residents came out and someone called the fire station.” Teams from both the Penal Fire Station and Penal Police Station responded to the call, and as of Thursday, investigations into the cause and perpetrators of the fire remain ongoing. The damaged property is directly connected to a recent disturbing abuse case involving 42-year-old Sabita Basdeo, a Barrackpore-based mother of two who has worked as a domestic worker for the residents of the home. Basdeo has alleged that she was subjected to brutal, prolonged abuse at the hands of the property’s occupants: she claims she was beaten repeatedly, had her head slammed repeatedly against a solid wall, suffered intentional burns across her body, and was held captive against her will for an extended period. After she was able to escape or be rescued, Basdeo was immediately transported for urgent medical care to treat extensive bruising across her face and body, as well as other visible traumatic injury marks. Police took two suspects into custody last Saturday in connection with the abuse allegations: a 38-year-old woman and her 17-year-old son, who are accused of orchestrating the unlawful confinement and brutal assault. As of Thursday, both suspects remained in police custody, and investigators are preparing to submit the case file to legal authorities to formalize multiple criminal charges. Basdeo’s family, including her husband and one of her two sons, has publicly spoken about their desire for her to make a full recovery and return home to their residence on Ramlal Road, off Platinite Trace in Barrackpore, once she is cleared to leave care. Investigators have already completed a formal interview with Basdeo to document her allegations, and they are expected to receive formal legal guidance imminently on moving forward with charges against the two suspects.