分类： society

Weeks after a controversial police-involved shooting left one man dead and another woman permanently injured in Trinidad and Tobago, top law enforcement officials say the investigation is held up by pending forensic testing, prompting a public call for patience from the country’s top police leader. Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro made the disclosure during a public appearance at the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Commerce’s Westmoorings headquarters on Tuesday, breaking down the current status of the probe into the January 20 incident that killed 32-year-old Joshua Samaroo and left Kaia Sealy paralyzed.

The shooting, which unfolded after a vehicle chase that ended with suspects’ car crashing into a St. Augustine drain, was captured on widespread mobile footage that sparked significant public outcry and renewed national debate over excessive use of force by Trinidad and Tobago law enforcement. Two independent oversight bodies, the Professional Standards Bureau and the Police Complaints Authority, have already launched parallel probes into the incident alongside the internal police investigation.

Guevarro told attendees that the police-led investigative work on the case is fully complete, and the file has been passed to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for formal review. The only outstanding materials required to move the process forward are official lab reports from the national Forensic Science Centre, which have not yet been finalized. “The investigation, as far as the police aspect is concerned, has reached a point where we approached the Director of Public Prosecutions. What is outstanding are forensic reports. We don’t control that,” Guevarro explained.

Pushing back against public expectations of rapid forensic results fueled by popular crime television, Guevarro noted that real-world forensic analysis follows strict, time-consuming protocols that cannot be rushed to satisfy public pressure. He pointed out that even major international law enforcement agencies like the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation routinely deal with delays of months or even years in forensic processing, dismissing the fast turnaround seen in scripted media as nothing more than “Hollywood magic.”

Acknowledging the deep frustration and grief of the victims’ families waiting for answers, Guevarro expressed empathy for their position while emphasizing that accuracy in evidence gathering must take priority over speed. “So, I feel for the family and those who are waiting because I know it takes time…we want to make sure we get it right,” he said. He reaffirmed that the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) remains fully committed to conducting a thorough, transparent investigation that produces an outcome fully supported by solid evidence.

Guevarro also addressed public controversy over his decision to release raw video footage of the shooting to the public early in the probe, a move that his own in-house legal team advised against. He told the audience that TTPS’s top legal official warned that releasing sensitive footage during an active investigation could jeopardize future legal proceedings and open the service up to additional public criticism. But Guevarro said he stood by his choice to give the public unfiltered access to the evidence he had seen, accepting full responsibility for the call. “I wanted to show the public what I am seeing,” he said. “At the end of the day, I am the leader of this organisation and I take the blows for it. I can stand before anybody and say I made a decision to do what I did.”

In an address to leaders of Trinidad and Tobago’s business community on Wednesday, Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro sounded a stark warning: the pervasive public fear of crime has become a more corrosive threat to the nation’s economy and public confidence than the actual crime problem. Speaking at the headquarters of the T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Westmoorings, Guevarro pushed back against widespread negative narratives around crime, pointing to recently compiled police data that shows sharp, measurable declines in violent and major offenses across the country.

Guevarro framed fear not as a passing subjective emotion, but as a tangible, behavior-shaping force that warps decision-making and undermines progress long before any criminal act occurs. “Economic stability and public confidence are more interconnected than ever. This morning, I want to speak to you not just about crime itself, but about something that is far more corrosive, persistent and economically damaging, which is fear,” he told attendees.

Official statistics compiled by the T&T Police Service tell a story that diverges sharply from dominant public perception, Guevarro explained. For 2025, the nation recorded 370 homicides, marking the second-lowest annual homicide total recorded across the last 18 years of available data, stretching from 2008 to the current year. That figure represents a 42% annual drop in homicides, a decline Guevarro noted ranks as the second-largest annual percentage reduction in the world, only trailing the progress seen in El Salvador. Broader crime trends follow the same downward trajectory: reported serious offenses dropped 30% nationwide, falling from 3,413 incidents to 2,397 in comparative reporting periods. Every police division across the country recorded improvements, with drops ranging from a 55% reduction in the North Eastern Division to a 32% reduction in the Southern Division. “These are not opinions or political talking points. These statistics tell a different story,” he emphasized.

Yet despite these measurable gains, Guevarro said public discourse remains dominated by widespread anxiety, a phenomenon he argued is intentionally amplified by actors with self-serving interests. “Fear has become a kind of currency amplified and galvanised by those who profit from insecurity and those who build their platforms on negativity,” he said. Guevarro openly questioned whether distorted narratives around crime stem from deliberate strategic choices: “Is it because their business model depends on crime? Is it because a safer country threatens your influence, your narrative or your revenue streams?”

The economic harm of this inflated fear is already tangible for local businesses, Guevarro warned. Fear pushes businesses to overinvest in unnecessary security measures — from extra alarms and high-resolution cameras to reinforced gates and other specialized gadgets — that drive up operating costs without meaningfully improving safety. Beyond direct costs, widespread anxiety keeps customers at home, erodes workforce confidence, and discourages outside investment, as potential investors focus only on outdated negative narratives rather than the nation’s improving trajectory.

Guevarro also used the address to defend the current state of emergency (SOE) implemented to curb violent crime, pushing back against claims that the extraordinary measure harms legitimate business activity. “The SoE does not negatively affect law-abiding citizens, and there is no interference with business operations. The only people affected are those who terrorise communities, extort businessmen and traffic firearms,” he said. He outlined early results from the SOE, noting that over 42 days of enforcement, police carried out more than 3,500 targeted operations, arrested over 1,500 individuals, and secured charges for 340 people. “These are not the results of failure. They are the results of disruption and relentless enforcement,” he said.

Looking ahead, Guevarro outlined the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service’s ongoing strategy to sustain declining crime rates: the service is prioritizing intelligence-driven operations, expanding modern public safety surveillance infrastructure, and strengthening coordination across multiple government agencies to disrupt criminal networks. “We are not guessing. We are not hoping. We are executing a clear strategy,” he stressed.

In closing, Guevarro appealed to the business community to partner with law enforcement to rebuild public trust, not by ignoring the reality that crime remains an ongoing challenge, but by acknowledging the progress that has already been made. “We are not asking you to ignore the reality. We are asking you to recognise progress, support the systems that are working, and partner with us to accelerate healing,” he said. Reaffirming that the nation’s overall trajectory is positive, Guevarro warned that if unfounded fear continues to dominate national conversation, it will erode all the progress that law enforcement and the nation have worked to achieve. “The truth is, crime is real, but the fear of crime is not always rooted in fact. If fear continues to dominate the national conversation, it will undermine every single piece of progress that we have made,” he said.

The shocking rescue of 42-year-old Sabita Basdeo, who authorities allege was held captive and systematically tortured for seven years at a private residence in San Francique, Trinidad, has pulled back the curtain on a devastating saga of survival that has unfolded across one working-poor family for nearly a decade.

When Basdeo vanished from her home in Barrackpore, her two sons were just four and nine years old. For seven years, her husband 55-year-old Krishendeo Basdeo has carried the full weight of raising their boys alone, fighting poverty and relentless uncertainty to keep his family intact. In an interview with local outlet the Express at his cramped one-room shack — tucked at the end of an overgrown dirt track far from paved main roads — Krishendeo recalled the quiet, joyful life his family once shared, described his years of struggle to make ends meet, and opened up about his desperate hope to bring his damaged wife home.

It all began when Sabita left the family home in search of work to supplement their meager income. A tip led her to a domestic cleaning job with a local family, a opportunity the cash-strapped mother could not turn down. “She did not know this would happen and she wouldn’t see her children again,” Krishendeo said, his pain masked by a faint, weary smile as he spoke.

Almost immediately after Sabita failed to return, Krishendeo said he turned to police for help, filing a missing person report and pleading for investigators to intervene. He even traveled to the San Francique property himself, begging the residents there to release his wife. Instead of cooperation, he was met with public humiliation and verbal abuse, he said.

Undeterred, Krishendeo built a daily routine centered on keeping his sons fed and educated. He woke long before sunrise to work small plots of farmland, then returned home in time to walk the boys to the local primary school. During school hours, he took odd jobs to earn enough cash to put food on the table, and he always wrapped up his work by 3 p.m. to pick his children up from class. For most nights, their dinner was simple: bread paired with cheese or spiced chickpeas, the cheapest filling meal the family could afford. When the stress of poverty and loss grew too heavy to bear, Krishendeo said he turned to his Hindu faith, praying before his household murtis for strength. Holidays like Christmas passed with no fanfare: no presents, no festive decorations, no special holiday meal. They were just another day of survival for the small family.

Slowly, even that fragile routine collapsed. Rising school fees pushed the boys out of education, forcing them to take up low-paying odd jobs just like their father to help the family get by. Through it all, Krishendeo never stopped thinking of his wife. “I missed her. I would stay up at night thinking of her and how my sons were suffering without a mother,” he said. He described the Sabita he knew as a warm, loving woman who adored her boys — and the woman he saw after her rescue was almost unrecognizable. “Her face is really bad and her body has burns all over. It wasn’t a nice thing to see. I hope she recovers, but I don’t know. It is bad. I want her to come back home and be with us. But she is not the same,” he said.

After her rescue, Sabita received urgent medical care at a local hospital and is currently staying with relatives as she recovers from her ordeal. Relatives who knew Sabita from her childhood in Penal said she grew up in deep poverty, born in a remote home accessible only through an abandoned sugar cane field, but was always a joyful young woman who found happiness in her small family after marrying Krishendeo in a traditional Hindu ceremony. “She was happy. She loved her children. I hope she recovers from this,” one relative said.

Local neighbors who have watched the Basdeo family struggle for years have now called on Trinidad’s Ministry of the People, Social Development and Family Services to step in to support the family. They note that Krishendeo has been a dedicated, loving father to his sons, but systemic poverty has left him unable to improve their living conditions or access the support the family needs to heal.

In the wake of Sabita’s rescue, law enforcement has already made progress in the case. A 38-year-old woman and her teenage son were arrested last Saturday in connection with Basdeo’s disappearance, and investigators confirmed the pair could face a raft of serious criminal charges, including felony false imprisonment. Just days after the arrests, on Wednesday morning, the $2 million San Francique property linked to the alleged captivity was destroyed by fire in what authorities are treating as a suspected case of arson.