标签： Trinidad and Tobago

A damning oversight hearing held by Trinidad and Tobago’s Joint Select Committee on National Security has pulled back the curtain on critical flaws in the country’s $10.13 million taxpayer-funded electronic monitoring program, where 300 ankle bracelets were deployed with non-cut-resistant straps that allowed multiple convicted offenders to remove their devices and flee. The issue was thrust into the national spotlight following the high-profile 2023 escape of convicted human trafficker Anthony Michael Smith, who absconded mid-trial before being recaptured months later, prompting a full overhaul of the insecure legacy system.

During the committee’s public proceedings, Energy Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal raised the high-stakes case of Smith, a man who made history as the first person convicted under Trinidad and Tobago’s landmark Trafficking in Persons Act. Smith’s legal saga stretched back to a 2015 police raid in Arouca that led to his initial charges. When his trial finally opened in September 2023, he walked away from court after just two days of testimony, having cut through his non-resistant monitoring strap. He was convicted in absentia on five counts of child trafficking on November 2, 2023, and sentenced to 15 concurrent years in prison, and remained at large until a police operation captured him in February 2024.

Lawrence Hinds, manager of the country’s Electronic Monitoring Unit, told committee members that an internal review launched after Smith’s escape confirmed the original devices were wholly unsuitable for monitoring high-risk offenders. When pressed about why the flawed equipment was put into use, Hinds initially noted his team had been “pushed” to deploy the devices, before clarifying that the final decision to place offenders on electronic monitoring rests exclusively with the judiciary, even when technical staff formally advise against the practice for high-risk individuals.

“All we can do is submit our recommendation to the court. We are bound by their final decision,” Hinds explained. “If the court rules for monitoring regardless of our concerns, we cannot refuse to implement it.”

The original monitoring system was first procured in 2021 via an international tender awarded to Allied Universal Systems Ltd in partnership with former collaborator Attenti Systems, with 300 devices acquired at the $10.13 million total price tag. The unit was first established in 2017, but legislative gaps delayed full operationalization for four years. The initial inventory included devices designed for a range of supervision scenarios: domestic violence cases, juvenile monitoring, and home curfew enforcement, all fitted with multiple tracking sensors—but none featured cut-resistant ankle straps. As the profile of offenders placed into the program shifted toward higher-risk individuals in recent years, the equipment’s vulnerabilities became unavoidable.

Hinds confirmed that Smith had worn his monitoring device without incident for years while his case wound through the court system. His escape unfolded on the Republic Day public holiday, when he left his approved residence and traveled toward the Priority Bus Route, where he tampered with the strap. The device triggered an immediate alarm, and monitoring unit staff followed all standard operating protocols but were unable to locate Smith before referring the case to national police.

In addition to Smith, Hinds confirmed four other monitored offenders have successfully cut their devices and absconded to date, underscoring the scope of the system’s failures.

Following the escape and subsequent risk assessment, the government has moved forward with a multi-phase system upgrade that will replace all legacy equipment with new devices fitted with cut-resistant steel cuffs. The upgrade, which is already in its third phase, added 150 new secure devices in 2024 at additional cost to taxpayers. Once the transition is complete, the entire original flawed system will be permanently decommissioned and discarded, with all future monitoring conducted exclusively on the upgraded platform.

Hinds noted that the new steel cuffs, while far more secure, come at a significantly higher per-unit cost. The monitoring unit’s new policy prioritizes placing all offenders, regardless of assessed risk, on the steel-cuff devices to eliminate the vulnerability posed by the older straps, with high-risk cases specifically assigned to the upgraded technology.

To date, the Electronic Monitoring Unit has received more than 501 monitoring requests from the judiciary, with 168 cases approved and activated. Ninety-six individuals have already completed their required monitoring periods and exited the program. Hinds added that the unit enforces basic eligibility criteria: all monitored people must live at a residence with consistent access to electricity, and cannot have pre-existing health conditions that would make wearing the ankle device unsafe or impractical.

A sharp political firestorm has erupted in Trinidad and Tobago after former Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley publicly denounced sitting Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s recent Independence Day addresses as overtly racist and intentionally destructive to the country’s multi-ethnic social fabric.

In a social media post published to Facebook on Saturday, Rowley did not mince words, accusing Persad-Bissessar of stoking deep-seated racial and class division across the nation and demanding she issue a immediate public apology for what he labeled “vile, racist rubbish” that undermines the country’s hard-won peace, economic progress and political stability.

Rowley argued that since Persad-Bissessar’s administration returned to power, her agenda has not been focused on building on previous policy foundations or fulfilling campaign promises of improved quality of life for all Trinidadians and Tobagonians. Instead, he characterized the prime minister as a bitter, vengeful politician who is determined to exact retribution against demographic groups she blames for her party’s 10 years out of office.

While Rowley acknowledged that policy disagreements and subpar cabinet appointments are par for the course in partisan politics, he drew a firm line at the content of Persad-Bissessar’s 2026 Independence Day messages – especially coming one year after she canceled the national 2025 Independence celebration. Rowley stressed that this controversy is far beyond the gentle political ribbing known locally as “picong” and amounts to unvarnished racism and a deliberate divide-and-conquer strategy.

At the core of Rowley’s criticism is Persad-Bissessar’s recent appeal to rural Indo-Trinidadian communities, where she reportedly urged the group to feel a separate sense of national recognition and to push back against other groups that she claimed have marginalized low-income Indians for generations. Rowley pushed back against this framing, noting that poverty and hardship have touched all ethnic groups across the country, not just one community.

“This is naked racism and the worst form of divide and rule,” Rowley wrote. “She somehow believes that she is now in a position and entitled to call out one section of the population to utilise jingoism against the rest. This is dangerous politics in any multi-racial or multi-ethnic society. History is replete with examples of this experiment which has failed on every occasion but in many has taken peaceful societies down slippery slopes from which they never recovered.”

Rowley emphasized that none of Trinidad and Tobago’s six previous heads of government, nor any of its presidents or governors-general, have ever attempted to undermine the country’s inclusive social contract in such a calculated, harmful way. For decades, he noted, the nation’s greatest strength has been the social harmony it has built across its diverse population. Now, he claimed, Persad-Bissessar is intentionally targeting that foundational unity for destruction, and the opposition will not stand by and allow this pattern of division to continue.

A simmering internal conflict within Trinidad and Tobago’s ruling People’s National Movement (PNM) took another turn this week, as San Fernando East Member of Parliament Brian Malone has confirmed he has not submitted any documentary evidence to the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) amid swirling corruption allegations against the constituency’s former PNM executive.

Manning spoke with reporters on the evening before a closed-door general membership gathering at his constituency office on Navet Road, San Fernando, addressing growing speculation over his handling of the corruption claims. The MP clarified that existing publicly available information already provided sufficient context for his actions, eliminating the immediate need to turn over additional private documents to law enforcement. He also pushed back against characterizations that he had leveled direct accusations against specific individuals, noting that he had only requested the national party leadership launch a formal investigation to resolve constituent concerns and clear public uncertainty.

“All details will come to light in due course,” Manning told reporters, adding that his request for a probe came directly after local voters raised repeated concerns about improper activity within the constituency executive.

Top PNM officials have publicly pushed back against Manning’s actions in recent weeks. Party chairman Marvin Gonzales issued a public warning that Manning was “treading a very dangerous path”, while party leader Pennelope Beckles reiterated last week that any credible evidence of corrupt activity should be turned over directly to police for investigation. Despite the public disagreement, both Beckles and Manning confirmed they have held cordial private discussions, and Manning asserted there is no lasting rift between himself and the national party leadership.

“I have no concerns at all about my standing within the party or my working relationship with party leadership,” Manning said, adding that his absence from the party’s recent Independence Day celebrations was due to a pre-scheduled conflicting commitment, not any personal or political friction.

The MP emphasized that his primary focus has always been advancing the interests of San Fernando East constituents, and claimed the constituency’s PNM branch is currently stronger than it has ever been. Tuesday evening’s closed membership meeting was organized specifically to address questions from local party members, update attendees on both constituency and national political developments, and the media was barred from attending the closed session per party policy. Manning said he did not expect significant pushback or anger from attending members over his handling of the corruption probe request.

Following the recent resignation of the entire previous San Fernando East constituency executive, Manning confirmed local representatives have submitted a request to party headquarters at Balisier House to appoint an interim executive, and are currently awaiting a formal response. In the interim, the local branch has continued day-to-day operations to the best of its ability, he said. Notably, former senator Hazel Manning, Brian Manning’s mother, has put herself forward to serve as chairman of the interim executive if approved by national leadership.

National Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander previously addressed the allegations, telling reporters that any claims of corruption involving misuse of public funds require a full police investigation. Alexander also confirmed he has reviewed existing documents related to the allegations that left him “shocked”, though he declined to publicly release the content of the documents or identify their source.

At the heart of the conflict is a Florida condominium purchased for $187,000 USD (equivalent to roughly TT $1.26 million), one of multiple undeclared properties that have sparked the falling out between Brian Manning and former members of the now-resigned San Fernando East constituency executive.

A leading Caribbean political analyst has unpacked the combative language used by Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar in a recent Independence Day address to her United National Congress (UNC) party, framing the rhetoric as a deliberate battle cry tied to long-running internal leadership succession discussions. Dr. Maukesh Basdeo shared his reading of the controversial remarks during an interview with TV6’s Morning Edition, breaking down the layered messaging in Persad-Bissessar’s two separate addresses delivered on Monday: one directed to the broader national population of Trinidad and Tobago, and a second, more fiery communication to the UNC party base.

In her message to UNC members, Persad-Bissessar struck an uncompromising tone, declaring that the party requires “steeliness and savagery” to defend its collective interests. She told supporters that there was no middle ground in internal and political struggles, stating bluntly: “It’s either peace or total war, nothing in between.” She also warned that the party’s top leadership must “never fall into the hands of weak men and women,” arguing that diplomacy alone is insufficient to protect the party’s core membership and values, and urging members to “do not crawl on your belly for anyone.”

Basdeo’s analysis connects this aggressive rhetoric to well-documented internal friction within the UNC. The party has faced growing internal dissent in its ranks, and open discussion of leadership succession has been ongoing for months ahead of the scheduled April 2025 general election. Basdeo argues that Persad-Bissessar’s core goal with the speech was to emphasize that overcoming these existing internal challenges requires unwavering party unity — a prerequisite, he says, for the UNC to secure victory at the polls next year. Beyond unity, Basdeo contends the speech also lays clear groundwork for formal succession planning within the party. By framing the next UNC leader as needing to be a strong, uncompromising figure who can hold the fractious party together, Persad-Bissessar is setting a clear benchmark for whoever succeeds her in the top role.

The analyst also addressed growing criticism from the opposition People’s National Movement (PNM), which has raised questions about the appropriateness of a sitting prime minister using such militaristic language in a partisan political address. Basdeo noted that it is inherently difficult to separate the dual roles of prime minister and political party leader when the same person holds both positions, a dynamic that creates unavoidable overlap between national and partisan messaging.

Basdeo also analyzed Persad-Bissessar’s broader national Independence Day message, marking 64 years of Trinidad and Tobago’s independence from colonial rule. In that address, the prime minister urged the nation to move past blaming ongoing social and economic challenges on its colonial history, and instead take full ownership of all policy decisions made in the decades since independence. Basdeo echoed that framing, noting that the country’s current major social and political groups all emerged from the colonial experience, making it long past time for the nation to take full responsibility for shaping its own future.

On the occasion of Trinidad and Tobago’s 64th anniversary of national independence, incumbent Prime Minister and United National Congress (UNC) political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar delivered a stark, impassioned address to party members via social media, laying out uncompromising standards for the movement’s future leadership and reflecting on the party’s working-class origins.

Persad-Bissessar opened her message by emphasizing that UNC’s top leadership must never be held by individuals lacking resolve. She argued that while diplomatic tact and nuanced negotiation are core political skills, these approaches must be reinforced by unyielding toughness when it comes to protecting the party’s identity and regulating its membership. She warned explicitly against the threat of institutional takeover, claiming the rival People’s National Movement (PNM) had already fallen victim to infiltration by local drug trafficking networks and corrupt, self-serving political elites – a fate she said the UNC must avoid at all costs.

Beyond a political organization, Persad-Bissessar framed the UNC as a foundational belief system rooted in the values of resistance, equal rights, social justice, collective unity, and persistent hope. These ideals, she noted, draw their strength from the experiences of the party’s earliest working-class and marginalized ancestors, who never abandoned their struggle for dignity despite systemic disadvantage.

Looking beyond political strategy, the Prime Minister urged UNC members to center communal love as the foundation of collective success, urging supporters to avoid resentment and instead open their hearts to lift up communities around them. But she paired this call for empathy with a hardline stance on self-respect, stating that members should never beg or compromise their core values for political favor: “It’s either peace or total war, nothing in between,” she asserted.

Persad-Bissessar used her address to honor the generations of working Trinbagonians that built the UNC from its earliest days. She recounted the harsh struggles of the party’s founding base: many lived in deep poverty, surviving on simple meals of salt and rice, drawing drinking water from natural ponds and springs, and often skipping meals to put their children through informal classes held in cowsheds and church annexes. Before widespread public services were available, these early supporters walked or cycled miles for any government access, used hand-made flambeaus for light, and lacked access to basic healthcare. Persad-Bissessar claimed that for decades after 1962 independence under PNM rule, these marginalized community members faced widespread ridicule and discrimination across the country.

Despite these systemic barriers, she noted, generations of UNC-aligned families fought to educate their children, carving out a space for equal citizenship in Trinidad and Tobago. Looking forward, she called on current party members to continue this legacy of progress, urging continuous learning, economic ambition, and upward mobility. She pushed young Trinbagonians to pursue entrepreneurship and asset ownership rather than settling for wage labor or reliance on state social support.

Closing her address, Persad-Bissessar reaffirmed her gratitude for the opportunity to lead both the party and the nation, pledging to work tirelessly to amplify the voices of UNC supporters and keep the country on a path toward equitable progress, ending with a public declaration of lifelong affection for the UNC membership.

On the eve of Trinidad and Tobago’s 64th Independence anniversary, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar delivered a stirring tribute to the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) and all national law enforcement agencies, celebrating their landmark success in reversing a years-long surge in violent crime and saving hundreds of civilian lives. The address came during a special reception hosted by Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro at Port of Spain’s Police Administration Building, a venue that brought together senior law enforcement officials and political leaders to mark the national holiday.

Persad-Bissessar opened her remarks by emphasizing that coordinated law enforcement action has pulled the nation out of the crippling grip of unprecedented violent crime that reached a peak with a historic high of 629 murders in a single year. Citing newly compiled crime statistics, she confirmed that national homicide rates have dropped to their lowest level since 2011, with all major categories of violent and property crime including murders, shootings, non-fatal woundings and robberies showing sharp downward trends in 2025. Most notably, official data shows a 42% overall reduction in murders compared to 2024. Between January 2025 and the date of the address, the country has recorded 400 fewer homicides than pre-existing projections predicted – a difference that translates directly to more than 400 citizens alive today because of targeted police intervention.

Quoting the well-known observation that “People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf,” Persad-Bissessar noted that when Guevarro was appointed to lead the TTPS, the government and public gave him and his force a clear mandate to reverse the country’s crime crisis. The now-visible results, she said, prove that the TTPS’s current crime-fighting strategies are working, and that the service is steadily regaining full control of public safety across the country. Beyond violent crime, she added, road traffic safety has also seen dramatic improvement: fatal road accidents have dropped by 31%, serious injuries by 35%, minor injuries by 33%, and total accidents are running roughly 42% lower than previous years.

Beyond the positive statistical progress, the Prime Minister stressed that numbers alone cannot capture the profound personal sacrifices made by frontline police officers and their families. Unlike civilians who naturally flee from danger, Persad-Bissessar pointed out, police officers run toward threats to protect people who will often never even know the name of the person who saved their life. Officers routinely put their own lives at risk, and some make the ultimate sacrifice while on duty. Behind every serving officer, she added, is a family that lives with constant uncertainty, carrying the emotional weight of waiting to see if their loved one will return home safely after a shift. Officers regularly give up family time, holidays, weekends, birthdays, and anniversaries so that ordinary citizens can celebrate those moments without fear. They also carry the lasting psychological and physical toll of repeatedly witnessing violence, trauma, and human suffering.

Persad-Bissessar also acknowledged that recent challenges including a national State of Emergency, a wave of unsolved bomb threats, and ongoing staffing shortages have placed extraordinary additional strain on the TTPS, forcing widespread cancellation of days off and requiring officers to work long, exhausting shifts. She then came out strongly in defense of the service against critics, urging officers not to be demoralized by unfair attacks from people who have never faced the dangers of frontline law enforcement. She noted that critics who spread unwarranted criticism, misinformation, and abuse are often the same people who flee from danger at the first sign of risk, and expect others to uphold moral standards they themselves refuse to follow. “Ignore them; they can never step in your shoes to fulfil your roles,” she told officers. “When faced with abuse and denigration from those who don’t appreciate you, always remember I respect you, I appreciate you, and I love you.”

She closed her formal remarks by confirming that her administration offers unwavering, unequivocal support to Guevarro and the entire TTPS as they continue their work to reduce crime. Speaking to reporters after the reception, Persad-Bissessar outlined next steps for strengthening law enforcement across the country. She confirmed that Parliament will soon reopen, and new anti-crime legislation is already in the pipeline. Ongoing recruitment drives across all protective services have already increased the number of frontline officers deployed across the country, and new community police posts will be opened and operationalized in the near future. The Prime Minister explained that the government is taking time to ensure all infrastructure at the new posts is fully functional before opening, so that residents will not face basic service issues like interrupted water or power once the facilities launch.