Carib Scope

标签： Trinidad and Tobago

特立尼达和多巴哥

  • …CWU welcomes assurances over workers’ jobs

    …CWU welcomes assurances over workers’ jobs

    Months of growing uncertainty over the future of Hilton Trinidad & Conference Centre’s workforce have been eased after the state-owned enterprise e TecK issued formal written guarantees to the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) confirming job security and operational continuity following its completed acquisition of the hotel’s operating company.

    For weeks leading up to this announcement, frontline and management staff at the iconic Port of Spain hospitality landmark were left in limbo amid rumors about impending ownership changes, potential layoffs, and shifts to management structure. The restructuring stems from a long-standing lease arrangement where e TecK held ownership of the land and property, while Hilton International Trinidad Ltd operated the hotel under a long-term sub-lease. That structure has now been revised, with e TecK completing its full acquisition of Hilton International Trinidad Ltd and signing a new hotel management agreement that keeps Hilton at the helm of daily operations.

    CWU Secretary General Joanne Ogeer confirmed in a public statement this week that the union received official correspondence outlining binding commitments to protect workers’ rights through the transition. The formal guarantees cover every key area of concern for employees: uninterrupted employment with no breaks in service, full retention of existing salaries, benefits and contractual working terms, no changes to reporting structures or job duties, and the preservation of CWU’s role as the recognized collective bargaining representative for staff.

    Notably, e TecK’s written confirmation explicitly states that Hilton will remain the hotel’s manager beyond the September 18 transition date, with no disruption to daily hotel operations for guests or staff, even as Hilton International Trinidad Ltd will be renamed HotelTT Asset Management Company Ltd as part of the corporate restructuring. The CWU emphasized that the core changes are limited to the ownership and corporate level, and per the formal commitments, there will be no impact on day-to-day operations, service standards, or the Hilton brand presence at the Port of Spain property.

    Additional guarantees address long-term employment rights: e TecK confirmed that the acquisition will not reset employee tenure or terminate existing employment relationships, and the restructuring will not be used as justification to cut any collectively bargained benefits that staff have already secured.

    While the CWU welcomed the clear, significant commitments that resolve months of uncertainty for its members, the union made clear it will not relax oversight of the transition. CWU representatives stressed that the organization will remain fully vigilant to ensure all formal commitments are honored not just in writing, but in practice, and will hold both e TecK and Hilton accountable to the terms laid out in the correspondence. The union also reaffirmed its commitment to upholding the hotel’s reputation as a key national tourism asset, with members and leadership pledging to continue delivering high standards of service, professionalism, and operational excellence as the transition moves forward, with the shared goal of supporting long-term stability and success for the property.

  • Sobers: We’ll get the work done

    Sobers: We’ll get the work done

    After years of stalled diplomatic and technical engagement, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela have taken a landmark step to reset their bilateral relationship, announcing the establishment of a joint commission designed to break long-standing inertia and advance collaborative work on issues of shared importance to both nations.

    Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs, Sean Sobers, outlined in a recent telephone interview with local outlet *Express* that the new body’s technical working group will enable both governments to map out priority action items and deliver tangible outcomes aligned with the needs of their respective populations. According to Sobers, the joint commission will address cross-ministerial issues that have remained unresolved and untouched for years, long before the current United National Congress (UNC) administration took office last year.

    Public servants from the recent Trinidad and Tobago delegation to Caracas, including Permanent Secretary and head of the country’s Foreign Service Randall Karim, have already initiated outreach to their Venezuelan counterparts to complete the foundational technical work required to launch the commission and bring it into full operation. “We will work it out; what we prioritise will be actioned and we will get the work done, and I am certain that both countries are poised for huge progress on several varying fronts,” Sobers said of the initiative.

    In addition to the joint commission announcement, the bilateral talks yielded mutual reciprocal visit invitations: Sobers confirmed that Trinidad and Tobago has extended an official invitation to Venezuela’s Minister of People’s Power for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Felix Plasencia to visit the twin-island nation, while Plasencia has extended a corresponding invitation for Trinidad and Tobago’s government ministers and officials to travel to Venezuela for further in-depth bilateral negotiations.

    Sobers praised the warm and extraordinary hospitality extended to the Trinidad and Tobago delegation during its Caracas visit. Upon arrival in the Venezuelan capital, the delegation was greeted by Raul Li Castro, Venezuela’s Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs for Latin America and the Caribbean, alongside other senior government officials. The delegation then proceeded to “Casa Maria”, the headquarters of Venezuela’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, where Sobers and Plasencia held more than five hours of extensive substantive talks, running from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

    Sobers emphasized that the wide range of topics covered during the talks had been dormant for years, predating the UNC administration that took office in 2025. Aligning with the joint official statement released by both nations’ foreign ministries last Thursday, Sobers confirmed that the two countries are now formally charting a new era of cooperative relations.

    He pushed back against criticism from opposition lawmakers from the People’s National Movement (PNM), who he claimed have sought to undermine the current administration’s diplomatic efforts, saying the government would not be distracted by opposition noise and disruption. He also warned the public to guard against fake news and misinformation that may be spread by the opposition, stressing that “This team is going to get Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela working again to deal with all the issues for the benefit for all our peoples.”

    During the talks, Venezuelan officials also formally thanked Trinidad and Tobago for the critical humanitarian assistance it provided following the devastating earthquake that claimed the lives of more than 6,000 people in Venezuela. On behalf of Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Sobers assured Plasencia that the country remains ready to provide emergency assistance whenever and wherever it is needed in the future.

    Sobers also addressed opposition questions over why he, rather than the Minister of Energy or Minister of Trade, led the diplomatic mission to Venezuela, responding bluntly: “Don’t blame me if my leader has confidence in me.” He defended the role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, noting that in any national government, the foreign ministry holds a core responsibility to maintain expertise on issues that cut across all cabinet portfolios, especially when those issues intersect with the country’s international relations.

    He went on to criticize the diplomatic approach of the previous PNM administration, arguing that it failed to follow proper diplomatic protocols and concentrated key diplomatic engagements exclusively among a small group of senior government officials rather than routing negotiations through the formal, established structure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “That was the kind of upside-down approach that existed before over a near decade. You had Stuart Young and (Dr Keith) Rowley being the ones to go out there and having discussions, so you had a situation where a lot of things would have happened in silos and vacuums and people don’t know about it,” he explained.

  • Bodoe: Only a few CDAP drugs affected by shortages

    Bodoe: Only a few CDAP drugs affected by shortages

    In a radio interview with I95.5 FM yesterday, Trinidad and Tobago’s Health Minister Dr Lackram Bodoe publicly addressed growing public complaints over drug shortages under the nation’s long-running Chronic Disease Assistance Programme (CDAP), confirming supply gaps for a small subset of medications while outlining immediate and long-term plans to resolve the issue.

    Established two decades ago, CDAP enables nearly 300,000 local citizens to access subsidized chronic disease medication through a network of 289 participating private pharmacies across the country. Out of the 52 prescription medicines officially listed on the programme’s formulary, Bodoe confirmed that only six to seven are currently out of stock, leaving between 43 and 45 medications fully available for patient pickup.

    Bodoe emphasized that the current shortages are not a permanent or funding-related crisis. He clarified that procurement logjams, rather than a lack of government allocation for health services, are the root cause of the temporary supply disruptions. The government allocates between $800 million and $900 million annually to cover public-sector medication costs, including CDAP supplies, so funding is not a constraining factor. The Minister projected that all out-of-stock drugs will be restocked and available to patients within three to four weeks, once ongoing procurement processes are completed.

    In the interim, Bodoe said that safe, clinically effective alternative medications are already available for all currently out-of-stock drugs. He has issued guidance to clinicians to prescribe these proven alternatives when a patient’s usual CDAP medication is unavailable, and that participating pharmacists are prepared to dispense the substitute treatments. For context, Bodoe cited the common hypertension drug Lisinopril, which is currently out of stock under CDAP, as an example: Enalapril, another effective hypertension treatment, is readily available as a replacement.

    Beyond addressing immediate CDAP shortages, the Minister revealed that the health ministry is undertaking a broader overhaul of national pharmaceutical management, including a full revision of the national formulary that sets priorities for state-funded drug purchases. The revision process involves input from practicing clinicians across the country to ensure public funds are allocated to the most clinically necessary and effective medications.

    This review extends to high-priority categories including cancer treatments, where Bodoe noted the ministry is working alongside national oncologists to evaluate purchasing priorities. He explained that with a constant stream of new oncology drugs entering the global market, the government has a responsibility to balance patient access with fiscal prudence: many new cancer treatments have not yet established clear long-term clinical efficacy, so public funds must be directed toward treatments with proven patient outcomes.

    In a surprising disclosure during the interview, Bodoe revealed that an internal supply chain audit covering 2016 through 2025 uncovered a far larger systemic issue: more than $300 million worth of publicly funded pharmaceuticals and medical supplies have expired while stored in the national public health supply system. The Minister stressed that at no point were these expired medications distributed to patients for use; all expired stock was properly disposed of before reaching clinical settings. Nonetheless, he described the accumulation of hundreds of millions of dollars in expired supplies as an unacceptable supply chain failure, and confirmed that the Ministry of Health and National Insurance Property Development Company (NIPDEC) are already collaborating to implement corrective measures to prevent this issue from recurring in the future.

  • All schools will open

    All schools will open

    As the new academic term approaches, Trinidad and Tobago’s Education Minister Dr Michael Dowlath has issued a formal confirmation that every public school across the nation’s eight educational districts — seven in Trinidad and one in Tobago — will welcome students on schedule when the term opens on Monday. The announcement came following an on-site inspection tour of two education facilities in Debe, addressing ongoing public concerns about delayed infrastructure repair works across the island nation’s aging school network.

    During press briefings after his visit to Parvati Girls’ Hindu College, Dowlath acknowledged that a small number of schools across Tobago still have outstanding maintenance issues, but he confirmed all outstanding problems will be fully resolved by the end of the weekend. For sites where repair work will extend into the new term, the minister outlined clear safety protocols: active work zones will be fully cordoned off from student access, and prominent warning signage will be posted to eliminate safety risks, allowing classes to proceed without disruption.

    This year, the government has expanded its national school repair programme dramatically, with more than 350 separate projects underway across the country – a marked increase from previous years. The National Maintenance Training and Security Company Ltd (MTS) has been appointed as the lead project manager for the entire initiative, focusing upgrades on high-priority infrastructure including restroom facilities, sewer and electrical systems, potable water storage, roof repairs, classroom structural upgrades, and replacement of outdated furniture. Dowlath explained that the full cost of the programme is still being compiled, so no final estimate has been released to the public.

    In addition to planned vacation repairs, the ministry also initiated a round of emergency maintenance after school principals conducted a nationwide campus inspection two weeks prior to the start of term. Many dormant campus systems, particularly plumbing and sewer lines, develop unexpected issues after sitting unused through the holiday break, and these emergency problems require urgent resolution. To meet the deadline, MTS has deployed teams working 24-hour shifts over the weekend to finalize all critical works before Monday’s opening.

    Addressing widespread questions about why repairs did not begin in July as many stakeholders expected, Dowlath clarified that all projects must go through mandatory statutory approval processes for electrical, plumbing and sewer works, which introduced unavoidable delays. To ensure compliance and safety, multiple oversight bodies are monitoring works: the Ministry of Public Utilities provides regulatory supervision, the Ministry of Education deploys on-site school supervisors, and MTS manages day-to-day construction activities.

    For schools facing furniture shortages, Dowlath noted that MTS is also leading procurement of new desks and seating through the official Office of Procurement Regulation (OPR) process, and teams are accelerating the process to deliver supplies as quickly as possible. The new digital Schools’ Infrastructure Management System (SIMS) is already improving communication, allowing principals to submit and track maintenance requests in real time. At Parvati Girls’ Hindu College, for example, principal Dr Sharda Maharaj-Ramjattan used the platform to push for upgrades to new Form Six student accommodation, and work is currently progressing on schedule to expand capacity for the college’s senior cohort, who are currently housed in temporary prefabricated buildings.

    The inspection tour also included a visit to the new temporary campus being prepared for Grant Memorial Presbyterian School’s Infants to Standard Two student cohort. The original wing these students occupied was deemed structurally unsafe by the Ministry of Works, so the students will be temporarily decanted to a renovated space at St Paul’s Anglican School, with all repairs set for completion by Sunday.

    Earlier this week, the parent-teacher association of Marabella North Secondary School publicly raised concerns about multiple unaddressed infrastructural and maintenance issues at their campus. Dowlath confirmed that MTS CEO Nicholas Kanhai is personally aware of the issues, and work is already underway to resolve them. Kanhai noted that the national repair programme prioritizes schools with the most critical needs, meaning some campuses will receive more extensive upgrades than others. As of this week, more than 100 projects across the country have been fully completed, and Kanhai emphasized that no school will be blocked from opening on Monday due to unfinished work. In the small number of cases where works extend into the term, all active construction will be scheduled after school hours and on weekends to avoid disrupting classes.

    Dowlath also addressed the systemic context of the country’s school infrastructure crisis: between 2016 and 2024, many school campuses were left underfunded and neglected, and more than half of the over 800 schools in the Trinidad and Tobago education system are more than 50 years old. The current expanded repair programme is designed to address this decades-long backlog and bring all campuses up to modern safety standards. Finally, the minister confirmed that eligible children from the migrant population will be allowed to enroll in schools for the new term as long as they meet all official registration requirements.

  • Hosein: Relief for Hilton workers

    Hosein: Relief for Hilton workers

    Hundreds of workers at Hilton Trinidad can finally set aside long-held job security fears after the Trinidad and Tobago government finalized a restructured ownership and operating framework that locks the global hospitality brand into continued operation in the country, Minister of Land and Legal Affairs Saddam Hosein confirmed at a Port of Spain press briefing Wednesday.

    Speaking to reporters at the Office of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs, Hosein framed the deal as a quick resolution to a long-unresolved problem inherited by the current administration, noting that while key foundational work is complete, remaining outstanding issues will still be addressed in coming months. “This marks a major milestone for both our government and the hotel’s workforce, even though our work is not done,” Hosein said. “We inherited a decades-long impasse over this property, and we have delivered a resolution in a remarkably short timeline. For workers, this means you can breathe easy: Hilton is not leaving Trinidad.”

    The agreement was formally closed by the Evolving Technologies and Enterprise Development Company (e TecK), the state-owned enterprise for which Hosein serves as line minister. Under the new structure, which aligns the property with global standard hotel industry operating models, e TecK has acquired all issued and outstanding shares of Hilton International Trinidad Ltd. through its subsidiary HotelTT Asset Management Co Ltd, which will now hold full ownership of the Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre asset. Hilton will remain the brand and operator of the property, managing all day-to-day services, bookings and brand standards under a new hotel management agreement.

    Previously, e TecK owned the underlying land and sublet the property to the local Hilton affiliate, an unusual structure that Hosein noted was unique among Hilton’s global portfolio of properties. The new arrangement mirrors the successful ownership-operator model already in place at Trinidad’s Hyatt Regency, modernizing the legal and commercial relationship between the state and the global brand. All 250+ existing Hilton Trinidad employees will transfer to HotelTT Asset Management Co Ltd, with no planned layoffs tied to the restructuring. A town hall meeting to answer staff questions about the transition is scheduled for Monday.

    A critical next step for the property is a major multi-stage renovation, with officials estimating that up to TT $400 million in upgrades will be needed to bring the entire property back to full operating capacity. Currently, only half of the hotel’s guest rooms are available for bookings, with the remaining half deemed unusable due to deferred maintenance. The previous administration had identified the $400 million price tag for renovations but left no funding plan in place to complete the work. Despite the high cost, Hosein emphasized that the hotel is one of Trinidad and Tobago’s most iconic hospitality assets, and maintaining it as active hotel stock is critical to supporting the country’s growing tourism and events sector.

    “Right now, we have a booming energy industry drawing international business travel, major international sporting events, and annual anchor events like Carnival and Christmas that draw thousands of visitors to the country,” Hosein said. “We need additional available hotel rooms to support this growth, which is why we made it a priority to keep Hilton here. The brand could have chosen to exit, but we worked out a deal that works for both parties.”

    The initial management agreement between e TecK and Hilton runs for six months, with an option to extend for an additional six months if both parties agree. This window will give officials time to finalize long-term plans for the full renovation, while e TecK will immediately begin emergency repair work and room upgrade projects. Even with the interim agreement, Hilton has already reopened its full global reservation system for the property, allowing bookings for events as far out as 2025 Carnival, which Hosein said will drive immediate revenue growth for both the operator and the state.

    “Under the new structure, Hilton operates the state-owned asset, so when operator revenue grows, government revenue from the property also grows,” Hosein explained. While he declined to share specific financial details of the deal, Hosein confirmed that Hilton Trinidad has consistently operated at a profit, which was a core factor in the government’s decision to retain ownership and keep the brand.

    In closing, Hosein firmly denied recent unconfirmed media reports claiming the government planned to sell the property to a private financier linked to the ruling United National Congress. “There is no truth to these claims, no offers to purchase are on the table at this time, and these mischievous reports have no basis in fact,” he said.

  • T&T, Venezuela reset relations

    T&T, Venezuela reset relations

    After years of unspoken tensions and strained cross-border relations, neighboring nations Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela have formally inaugurated a new chapter of diplomatic and economic collaboration, signing a structured, multi-priority working agenda that aims to reset ties driven by mutual benefit and good neighborliness.

    The breakthrough agreement emerged from high-level diplomatic talks held in Caracas on Wednesday, where Trinidad and Tobago’s Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Sean Sobers met face-to-face with his Venezuelan counterpart, Felix Plasencia, Minister of People’s Power for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. Per the joint official statement released at the conclusion of the meeting, the visit marks the formal start of a “new era” in bilateral relations, overseen directly by the top leaders of both governments: interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez and Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

    The newly agreed roadmap is built on a foundation of mutual respect, sovereign equality, and good neighborliness, and covers six core priority areas critical to both nations’ long-term development. Energy cooperation tops the agenda, with both governments committing to joint work to unlock and develop the shared natural resources located across their territories, a move expected to create new economic opportunities for energy-dependent economies in the Caribbean. Trade expansion is framed as a central pillar of the new relationship, with officials outlining plans to deepen commercial links that will drive inclusive growth for both nations.

    Additional key priorities include agricultural collaboration to strengthen regional food security, collective action to advance sustainable development and environmental protection across the Caribbean basin, cultural exchange initiatives to deepen people-to-people integration between the two countries, and coordinated work on cross-border collective security. The inclusion of security cooperation carries particular significance: given the two nations’ shared border and close geographic proximity, both have long grappled with transnational threats including organized crime, human and drug trafficking, and irregular illegal migration, challenges that can only be effectively addressed through coordinated bilateral action.

    The talks also carried a moment of solidarity: Sobers traveled to Caracas carrying a shipment of humanitarian assistance collected for Venezuelan communities affected by the devastating 24 June double earthquakes that struck the country. The Venezuelan government formally expressed its public gratitude for the support and solidarity extended by the government and people of Trinidad and Tobago in the wake of the natural disaster.

    Notably, the joint statement made no mention of past diplomatic disagreements between the two nations, reflecting a deliberate shared focus on moving forward rather than revisiting historical tensions. Officials also emphasized that Wednesday’s talks will not be an isolated engagement: both governments have committed to maintaining a permanent, open communication channel to advance the agreed working agenda, in full compliance with core principles of international law. This ongoing dialogue is intended to deliver tangible progress that advances economic prosperity and social well-being for the people of both nations.

  • TTUTA: Book grant delays unacceptable

    TTUTA: Book grant delays unacceptable

    As education staff across Trinidad and Tobago returned to campus on Monday to prepare for the September 7 reopening of the 2026–2027 academic year, the country’s largest teachers’ representative body, the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA), has sounded the alarm over a cascade of unresolved issues that threaten to derail a smooth start to the term — starting with severely delayed distribution of critical book grants.

    TTUTA president Crystal Ashley did not mince words when criticizing the government’s handling of the book grant program Monday, noting that the rollout of the assistance only kicked off this week, leaving families scrambling to cover school costs ahead of the new term. The delayed distribution is already placing unnecessary financial and logistical strain on households across the country, she warned. Ashley also pushed back against the administration’s decision to task school supervisors with collecting and distributing book grant cheques, arguing that this responsibility is not outlined in the Education Act as part of supervisors’ official job duties.

    Over Monday and Tuesday, TTUTA national leadership deployed teams to schools across the country to meet with frontline educators and conduct on-the-ground assessments of campus readiness. In addition to the book grant delays, Ashley outlined a series of long-standing unaddressed issues that TTUTA is demanding the Ministry of Education resolve urgently to avoid disruptions when students return.

    One key point of contention is the slow rollout of the government’s annual Vacation Repair Programme. Ashley said critical maintenance work only got underway in August, leaving school facilities with barely four weeks to complete repairs and upgrades before students arrive — a timeline that is far too tight to ensure work is finished properly on time.

    The union has also raised fierce objections to the Ministry’s decision not to renew employment contracts for three critical groups of school support staff: social workers, guidance counsellors, and business operations assistants. Ashley emphasized that these staff members deliver irreplaceable, life-changing support to both students and school administrations, and leaving these roles vacant will undermine student well-being and campus operations.

    Worsening campus readiness issues, Ashley added, are ongoing furniture shortages at multiple schools across the nation. TTUTA is calling on the Ministry to move quickly to replenish stock before the first day of classes.

    Beyond pre-term preparation concerns, TTUTA is renewing long-standing demands around overdue pay. Ashley reiterated the union’s call for the Ministry to finally disburse salary arrears owed to Teaching Service members for the 2020 to 2023 period, and demanded the Ministry publish a clear, binding timeline for when the outstanding funds will be released to educators.

    Ashley also raised alarms over millions of dollars in unpaid fees owed to maxi-taxi concessionaires that provide transportation services for students, calling on the government to honor its contractual agreements and disburse the outstanding payments immediately.

    Ashley emphasized that none of these issues are new, and argued that recurring last-minute problems ahead of school reopenings should not be treated as an unavoidable norm in Trinidad and Tobago’s education system. She called for systemic improvements: more robust advance planning and inter-agency coordination for future school reopenings, timely completion of annual facility repairs, prompt filling of all critical vacant positions, and consistent investment in adequate furniture and learning resources for all campuses.

    Specifically, Ashley pushed for policy changes to ensure book grants are processed and distributed months ahead of the new term to actually deliver on their goal of easing financial burdens for families, and repeated the demand for a transparent timeline for outstanding salary arrears for educators.

    “The reopening of schools should be about more than simply opening the school gates,” Ashley said. “Students and educators deserve schools that are properly staffed, adequately resourced, safe and ready for teaching and learning.”

    While TTUTA remains fully committed to collaborating with the Ministry of Education to resolve these concerns, Ashley stressed that meaningful collaboration requires tangible action, clear accountability, and a sense of urgency from government officials. As of press time, multiple attempts to reach Education Minister Dr Michael Dowlath for comment on TTUTA’s concerns have been unsuccessful.

  • $193.5m in cocaine found near preschool

    $193.5m in cocaine found near preschool

    Law enforcement agencies in Trinidad have pulled off one of the largest narcotics seizures in recent months, uncovering 416.5 kilogrammes of cocaine with an estimated street value of $193.5 million concealed inside modified backhoe tires at a warehouse in Longdenville, Central Trinidad. The location of the bust sits in the heart of a residential neighborhood, just steps away from a local preschool, raising new questions about how major drug operations are embedding in populated, community-focused areas.

    The coordinated operation unfolded over a 24-hour window, kicking off at 3:40 a.m. Wednesday and wrapping up at 3:30 a.m. Thursday. Organized under the oversight of Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police Kerwin Francis, head of the Criminal Division, the operation was led on the ground by Acting Superintendent St Clair. The action stemmed from intelligence that illegal weapons and narcotics were being stored at a compound along Pokhor Road, a quiet dead-end street located east of the commercial hub of Chaguanas.

    Acting under provisions laid out in Section 12 of the 2026 Emergency Powers Regulations, officers gained the authority to enter and search the premises without first securing a standard search warrant. These emergency powers were designed to enable law enforcement to move quickly on time-sensitive enforcement activity during a state of emergency, specifically when officers have reasonable cause to suspect criminal activity or contraband is present on site. After gaining entry, teams carried out a systematic search of the on-site residence, warehouse, and surrounding perimeter.

    It was during this detailed search that investigators stumbled on six large backhoe tires mounted on steel rims stored inside the warehouse. A closer inspection of four of the six tires revealed dozens of rectangular drug packages stashed inside their hollow casings. In total, officers recovered 420 individual packages of cocaine, which were packed inside crocus bags before being seized as evidence. While Trinidad’s Customs and Excise division typically handles contraband inspections at ports of entry and designated container examination facilities, the legislation grants the agency enforcement powers at off-port locations in appropriate circumstances. In this case, the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) led the search and discovery, with Customs officers joining afterward to assist with official weighing and documentation of the seizure.

    After processing, the combined weight of the cocaine shipment was confirmed at approximately 416.5 kilogrammes. Using TTPS’s standard street value calculation of $464,640 per kilogramme of cocaine, the total estimated worth of the seizure comes out to roughly $193.5 million, making it one of the most valuable cocaine busts carried out by the service this year.

    Three individuals have been taken into custody in connection with the smuggling operation. Those detained include a 42-year-old businessman who holds residency in the British Virgin Islands, alongside two St Lucian nationals aged 37 and 38. Following the discovery, Acting ASP St Clair conducted an on-site inspection, while officers from the Central Division Crime Scene Investigations Unit processed the location for forensic evidence. The seized narcotics were later transported to the Special Investigations Unit headquarters in Port of Spain, and the three detainees are being held at the St Joseph Police Station as the investigation continues.

    Local residents of Pokhor Road told reporters they had no advance warning of the large-scale law enforcement operation, and only became aware when they saw dozens of officers swarming the compound. The dead-end road is home to a mix of permanent residents, and locals said they had not noticed any unusual or suspicious activity around the targeted compound in the weeks leading up to the raid. One resident noted that while neighbors noticed the heavy police presence overnight, most assumed officers were carrying out a routine targeted operation and did not probe for details. Public records show the warehouse where the cocaine was found is owned by a local businessman who holds multiple commercial and residential properties across Central Trinidad.

    This Longdenville bust marks the latest in a string of large-scale narcotics seizures carried out by TTPS in recent months. Other major hauls recorded by the service in 2025 and 2026 include:
    – In August 2026, port police in Scarborough, Tobago intercepted a vehicle entering the island and discovered 33 kilogrammes of compressed cannabis hidden in a custom-built compartment disguised as a spare gas tank in the vehicle’s trunk. The seizure was valued at approximately $1.1 million.
    – In March 2026, a multi-agency operation at Richardson Trace in Fyzabad uncovered five crocus bags holding narcotics worth a combined $23.1 million. The haul included 207.9 kilogrammes of high-potency Colombian cannabis and 0.5 kilogrammes of cocaine.
    – In February 2026, acting on intelligence that a large drug shipment had arrived from South America, police seized approximately $6.3 million worth of cannabis in Gasparillo.
    – Later that same month, the Central Division Gang Unit partnered with specialist enforcement teams to raid a marina on Cacandee Road in Felicity, Chaguanas, seizing high-grade cannabis valued at more than $102 million.
    – In December 2025, over a 24-hour enforcement period, officers uncovered a combined 2.2 tonnes of marijuana across operations in Point Fortin and the Caroni Swamp, including a single $56 million cannabis haul found in a forested area of Cap-de-Ville.

  • Pensioner: Pull the damn trigger

    Pensioner: Pull the damn trigger

    A quiet residential neighborhood in Mayo, Bonne Aventure, became the site of a terrifying violent crime earlier this week, when three masked armed intruders forced their way into the home of 81-year-old pensioner Baboolal “Pike” Ramnarace, binding and robbing him and his 67-year-old companion Minnie Hosein before escaping with thousands in cash, a vehicle, and even the couple’s prepared cooked food. The Tuesday midday attack has left the two elderly victims shaken, with Ramnarace saying he is convinced the robbery was a coordinated set-up planned after the pair made a recent bank withdrawal.

    The routine of Ramnarace and Hosein unfolded as normal on the morning of the incident. The couple left the home early to stock up on groceries and collect prescription medication, returning to the Cotton Hill Road residence before noon. After sharing lunch, Ramnarace withdrew to his bedroom for an afternoon nap, while Hosein stayed behind in the kitchen to wrap up post-meal chores. That is when the intruders struck.

    Ramnarace described disorienting moment between sleep and wakefulness, when he heard Hosein screaming from the kitchen. At first, he assumed she had been startled by a rodent or other household pest. But before he could even fully stand to investigate, one of the intruders was already in his bedroom, pinning him to the mattress. The attacker pressed a loaded gun directly to Ramnarace’s head, bound his wrists tight with plastic zip ties, and gagged him with a pillowcase. The men then dragged Hosein from the kitchen into the bedroom, tying her to the bed beside Ramnarace.

    All three attackers were fully disguised, Ramnarace told reporters, with full-body coverings that left only their eyes visible. No facial features could be identified, making initial witness descriptions for investigators limited. In a moment of bold defiance amid the terror, Ramnarace challenged the armed men when one pressed the gun to his temple. “Under the excitement, I done kind of fed up, I tell him pull the damn trigger and let we dismiss the case and done,” he recalled.

    Hosein shared her own harrowing account of the ambush, saying the attack unfolded with shocking speed. “They put a gun behind my head and they say, ‘Where the money, where the key, where the car?’ I start to bawl, and they take the kitchen cloth and shove it in my mouth and take me to the room,” she said during an interview with local reporters at her Mayo village home on Wednesday. “That happen so fast. So fast, they pull out that car from downstairs. What you don’t expect in life, in my old days, now look what happen to me.”

    In total, the intruders stole $2,000 in cash from Ramnarace and an additional $1,500 belonging to Hosein. They also made off with Ramnarace’s silver 1994 Nissan B11, which carries registration number PBJ 9044 and has an estimated market value of roughly $30,000. In a bizarre final detail, the robbers also took a cooking pot holding four prepared chicken feet that the couple had set aside for their meal.

    After the attackers fled the property in the stolen car, Ramnarace and Hosein managed to wriggle free from their restraints. They immediately alerted nearby neighbors, who contacted local police to file a report. As investigators launched a manhunt for the three suspects and efforts to locate the stolen vehicle, the victims are still processing the emotional trauma of the attack.

    Ramnarace, who says he has lived a quiet, uneventful life in the community for decades, said he has been unable to shake the fear and anxiety from the incident. “Since I born, I living a nice life. If you know how that worry me. I steady crying for that,” he said. He added that he is convinced the attack was pre-planned: the couple had just withdrawn a sum of several thousand dollars from a local bank before returning home, and Ramnarace believes they were followed by the robbers, who targeted them specifically for the cash. “We just come out the bank. A few thousands; I can’t remember how much…they set up we,” he said.

  • T&T, Venezuela move to renew ties

    T&T, Venezuela move to renew ties

    A new chapter of bilateral engagement between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela is set to open this week, as a senior Trinidad and Tobago government delegation departs for Caracas for targeted working talks with senior Venezuelan officials, with an eye to deepening decades of friendship and collaboration across multiple sectors.

    Led by Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs Sean Sobers, the delegation includes key senior diplomatic figures: permanent secretary and Head of the Foreign Service Randall Karim, and Claire de Bourg, acting Foreign Service Officer III and head of the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Americas Division. Alvaro Enrique Sanchez Cordero, Venezuela’s ambassador to Port of Spain, will also accompany the group during the visit, local media outlet Trinidad Express has confirmed.

    The working visit will see the delegation hold formal discussions with Venezuela’s Minister of Foreign Relations and Foreign Trade Felix Plasencia and other top Venezuelan government representatives. Scheduled to depart Port of Spain on a Caribbean Airlines flight early Wednesday morning, the delegation is expected to return to Trinidad and Tobago the same evening. Beyond diplomatic talks, the mission carries a significant humanitarian component: the group will deliver three tonnes of medical and humanitarian aid collected by the Venezuelan Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago from donors across the twin-island nation. This donation marks the latest round of assistance from Port of Spain to Caracas, following a previous shipment of 230 tonnes of disaster relief supplies and additional air-freighted medical equipment sent after devastating earthquakes struck Venezuela in 2026.

    Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who first shared details of the visit with the Express, noted that the deep historical connection between the two nations is also personal: she has familial ties to Venezuela through her husband, Greg. She emphasized that the push to renew bilateral cooperation extends far beyond the energy sector, with opportunities for mutual gain in trade, agriculture, and other key areas that will benefit working people on both sides of the border.

    “Our two countries share a long, intertwined history, and my administration is eager to reconnect and reignite the productive partnership that has served both our peoples for generations,” Persad-Bissessar said, recalling past cordial, productive meetings with senior Venezuelan officials including current interim president Delcy Rodriguez.

    Sobers, for his part, credited Persad-Bissessar as the driving force behind the high-level meeting, pointing to her long-standing diplomatic relationships with both Venezuelan and United States officials that cleared the way for the current round of engagement. He recalled that during Persad-Bissessar’s first term as prime minister in 2011, her government advanced the implementation of the landmark cross-border agreement for the Loran-Manatee gas field between the two nations. More than 15 years later, under her current leadership, the agreement has come full circle, with major progress achieved in 2026, Sobers added.

    Four core priority areas have been set for the bilateral discussions during Wednesday’s working visit. The two delegations will negotiate terms for expanded trade and economic cooperation, explore new partnerships in agriculture and fisheries, coordinate on national security priorities including maritime security, border management, and immigration, and advance plans for shared energy security and shared prosperity for both nations. Sobers explained that the working visit is the culmination of months of ongoing high-level talks between the two governments, which began after Persad-Bissessar and Rodriguez held an initial meeting in June 2026 in the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes that prompted Trinidad and Tobago’s large-scale humanitarian relief effort. Following that meeting, the foreign ministries of both countries have worked to finalize the ambitious agenda for this week’s in-person talks.

    The Trinidad and Tobago delegation’s visit comes just one day after a senior United States delegation met with Rodriguez in Caracas to formalize new cooperation agreements covering energy, mining, and commercial trade. International media reports confirm that US Energy Secretary Chris Wright oversaw the signing of the agreements, which involve major energy firms Chevron, ENI, and GE Vernova. Speaking alongside Rodriguez during the signing event, Wright stated that the eight new agreements represent tens of billions of dollars in new investment, calling them a critical first step to building peace, expanded opportunity, and widespread prosperity for the Venezuelan people. For her part, Rodriguez expressed hope that the major 65-billion-barrel oil production agreement signed between Venezuela and the United States on August 28 would deliver tangible benefits to the people of the United States as well as Venezuela.