标签： Trinidad and Tobago

A fierce political confrontation over the controversial Special Operations Bill (SOB) has escalated in Trinidad and Tobago, with senior cabinet minister and ruling party official Roger Alexander calling on residents of opposition-held constituencies to pressure their elected representatives to support full implementation of the legislation across the country. Alexander made his remarks Thursday while speaking to reporters on a site visit of the Canopies at Caura housing development, a new Housing Development Corporation project in his Tunapuna constituency, ahead of the development’s official public launch.

The current clash stems from a decision announced earlier this week by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, leader of the ruling United National Congress (UNC). Facing widespread opposition and threats of mass protest from Members of Parliament belonging to the opposition People’s National Movement (PNM), Persad-Bissessar declared Monday that her administration would limit enforcement of the special operations framework exclusively to constituencies, local government districts, and the autonomous island of Tobago that are controlled by pro-government parties.

In a sharply worded social media statement, the Prime Minister accused PNM representatives of deliberately opposing the anti-crime legislation to protect the violent criminal gangs and local drug trafficking networks that operate in their constituencies. “Therefore, I will only authorise special operations in the 26 UNC-held constituencies, 70 UNC-held local government electoral districts and in the two TPP-held constituencies after consultation with Chief Secretary Farley Augustine,” she confirmed.

Opposition lawmakers have mobilized against the bill on constitutional and civil liberties grounds. During last Friday’s parliamentary debate, senior Opposition MP Stuart Young argued that the broad powers granted by the legislation risked transforming Trinidad and Tobago into an authoritarian police state. That opposition has extended to on-the-ground organizing: Port of Spain South MP Keith Scotland has already publicly pledged to mobilize his constituents to oppose both the bill and the proposed policy of designating high-crime neighborhoods as restricted “closed areas” for law enforcement operations.

Alexander pushed back against the opposition’s position Thursday, framing the government’s limited implementation plan as a defensive barrier that would keep criminal activity contained within opposition-held areas and away from pro-government communities. “We will build it like a fence. So, we will keep them away from good people,” he told reporters. He added that PNM representatives’ opposition to the bill does not reflect the will of ordinary constituents in opposition-held districts, arguing that lawmakers live outside the communities they represent and are out of touch with residents’ demand for stronger anti-crime action.

“He said constituents in those areas needed to stand up against their representatives and say, listen you are speaking for you because you do not live here, we want to speak for ourselves,” Alexander stated, adding that constituent pressure would force opposition MPs to reverse their position on the legislation.

When asked whether the government would open the policy up to broad public consultation before moving forward with implementation, Alexander noted that opposition lawmakers already rejected a consultation process during last week’s parliamentary debate. He confirmed that the administration has no plans to force the policy on constituents whose representatives have actively pushed back against it. When pressed to point to specific language in the legislation that allows for enforcement to be limited along political constituency boundary lines, Alexander stated the scope of implementation would ultimately be shaped by public attitudes toward the policy.

A high-stakes political and legal dispute has erupted in Trinidad and Tobago, after Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath launched pre-action legal proceedings against Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) Secretary General Joanne Ogeer over damning allegations she made at a September 14 union-hosted press conference. The contentious claims centered on Padarath’s supposed involvement in improper activities at state-owned Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT).

Attorney Jared Jagroo delivered the formal pre-action letter to Ogeer on Monday, with senior counsel Anand Ramlogan and attorney Ganesh Saroop also representing Padarath in the matter. The correspondence outlines a 14-day window from receipt for Ogeer to meet all of Padarath’s demands; failure to provide a satisfactory substantive response will result in immediate court filings without additional advance warning.

According to the legal document, Ogeer’s public statements framed Padarath as complicit in unreported wrongdoing at TSTT, accused him of intentionally ignoring alleged corruption and other improper conduct, and claimed he was unduly influenced by TSTT chairman Kern Dass. Additional allegations included claims that Padarath received internal documentation detailing purported corruption, conflicts of interest, and suspicious business deals at the telecommunications firm, and that he subsequently ordered TSTT’s chief executive officer to step down. Ogeer also reportedly claimed Dass acted as Padarath’s personal political financier – an assertion Padarath flatly denies.

Padarath’s legal team stresses that all of the allegations put forward by Ogeer are entirely false. The minister has never received the purported corruption file, never issued an order for the TSTT CEO to stand down, and denies all claims of financial impropriety or improper ties to Dass. The legal team adds that the false claims have intentionally painted Padarath as dishonest, financially compromised, and complicit in unethical activity at TSTT, causing severe and ongoing damage to his professional and personal reputation.

The original press conference was carried live on air and later uploaded to the CWU’s official Facebook page, before being picked up and reprinted by multiple mainstream Trinidad and Tobago media outlets. This widespread distribution, Padarath’s attorneys argue, has significantly amplified the harm caused by the false claims.

Among Padarath’s demands are a formal written apology, a high-profile public retraction posted to the CWU’s Facebook page and any other platform where the original allegations were shared, the removal of all social media content including the original Facebook reel that repeats the claims, and a formal written promise that Ogeer, the CWU, and all affiliated representatives will not reprint or repeat the allegations in the future. Padarath is also seeking monetary damages for defamation and full reimbursement of his legal costs. If Ogeer fails to meet all terms within the 14-day period, or issues any repeat allegations, Padarath will move forward with full legal proceedings seeking aggravated and exemplary damages, a court-ordered injunction blocking further publication of the claims, and additional legal relief.

This latest pre-action letter marks the second legal threat leveled against Ogeer stemming from the same September 14 press conference. Last week, separate pre-action correspondence was sent on behalf of Kern Dass and TSTT Corporate Secretary Viveka Pargass. In that matter, attorney Samantha Singh-Poona gave Ogeer 48 hours to withdraw her claims against the two TSTT executives, issue public apologies, and provide all factual evidence supporting her original allegations. Ogeer’s claims against Dass included attacks on his professional competence and his handling of TSTT’s bond refinancing and activities tied to the entity Maritime, while Pargass disputed allegations made about the circumstances of her appointment to her TSTT role. Singh-Poona also warned that failure to meet the 48-hour deadline would result in immediate court filings, including applications for injunctive relief to block further publication of the claims.

A brewing political controversy has emerged in Trinidad and Tobago over planned amendments to the national Procurement Act, with Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles raising urgent red flags about what she calls a power grab that erodes independent oversight of public spending. In a public statement posted to her official Facebook page over the weekend, Beckles laid out a sweeping critique of the proposed legislative changes, arguing the ruling government is systematically stripping the country’s independent procurement watchdog of its core enforcement powers while granting cabinet ministers broad, unchecked discretion to exclude public spending projects from legal scrutiny.

At the heart of Beckles’ criticism is the stripping of key intervention authorities from the Office of Procurement Regulation (OPR), the independent body tasked with monitoring and enforcing compliance with public procurement rules. Under Clause 5 of the new bill, the OPR will lose its ability to take meaningful action even when it uncovers irregularities through investigation or public complaints. These stripped powers include the ability to suspend ongoing procurement proceedings, block public bodies from moving forward with flawed award decisions, compel agencies to reverse or reconsider problematic rulings, order re-evaluation of bids, terminate entire procurement processes, and block or pause the award or implementation of contested contracts. Instead of binding enforcement action, Beckles explained, the OPR will only be permitted to issue non-binding, advisory recommendations that carry no legal weight.

Beckles specifically questioned the timing and motivation of these changes, pointing to a high-profile 2024 case where the OPR used its existing powers to halt billions in public housing contracts. Back in April, the OPR ordered the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) to pause the award of $3.4 billion in public housing project contracts mid-way through the process, launching a full review of the procurement proceedings to check for irregularities. The Opposition Leader asked pointedly why the government would move to eliminate the very powers that were already used to protect billions in taxpayer money, noting the lack of public consultation and transparency around the proposed changes. She also questioned the role of the Joint Select Committee, the parliamentary body that normally provides oversight for major legislative changes, asking why the panel had not carried out public engagement on the proposed amendments before they were brought forward.

Beyond weakening the OPR’s enforcement powers, Beckles highlighted a series of new broad exemptions the bill creates for major public spending categories. These new carve-outs include energy sector projects covering oil and natural gas development, national security initiatives, public-private partnership projects for public housing development, and a wide range of emergency-related procurement. Most concerning, Beckles argued, is a new provision that grants individual cabinet ministers the unilateral authority to add any additional procurement project to the exemption list via executive order. Under current law, any new exemptions to procurement rules require either a recommendation from the independent OPR or formal approval from the minister with the explicit agreement of the OPR. The proposed changes would completely eliminate this independent check on ministerial power, Beckles warned, leaving no guardrail against arbitrary or politically motivated exemptions for public spending.

The bill also doubles the monetary threshold for exempted procurement from $1 million to $2 million, a change Beckles says will put hundreds of millions in annual public spending outside the OPR’s regulatory framework. The proposed amendments would also repeal the existing Simplified Procurement Regulations that currently govern these lower-value purchases, removing existing transparency requirements for these contracts. Under the new framework, national ministries and designated public bodies will be able to spend up to $2 million on contracts without following the procurement rules laid out in the Act, while chief executive officers of Municipal Corporations will have an exemption threshold of $500,000 for their spending. Critically, the OPR will only receive notification of these contracts after they have already been awarded, eliminating any possibility for pre-award oversight to catch irregularities or corruption.

Beckles also pointed to two additional controversial changes in the bill: a reduction in the window of time that suppliers have to challenge flawed procurement decisions, and a new requirement that losing challengers cover the legal costs of the defending public body. She argued that these changes will deter suppliers from speaking out about irregularities, even when they have clear evidence of unfair or corrupt practices, leaving the status quo unchallenged.

Summarizing the scope of the changes for the public, Beckles said the amendments amount to a systemic rollback of procurement transparency: more public spending conducted outside the bounds of the Act, fewer enforcement powers for the independent regulator, weaker protections for suppliers that challenge irregularities, and far more unaccountable discretion in the hands of cabinet ministers and public bodies. She went on to allege that the changes open the door for renewed controversy connected to the HDC and LandmarkTT, claiming the amendments could ultimately clear the way for “massive payouts to UNC financiers.”

A sharp political clash over a sweeping anti-crime policing bill has taken an unexpected turn in Trinidad and Tobago, where Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has announced she will limit the implementation of the 2026 Special Operations Bill exclusively to electoral districts controlled by her United National Congress (UNC) party and the island of Tobago. The decision comes in direct response to fierce opposition from the rival People’s National Movement (PNM), whose lawmakers have raised repeated constitutional and civil liberty objections to the legislation, even threatening mass public protests to block its rollout in PNM-held seats.

In a blunt statement posted to social media over the weekend, Persad-Bissessar said her administration would respect the Opposition’s rejection of the bill, leaning into a forceful retort that frames the PNM’s opposition as a choice to let criminal elements control their constituencies. ‘The PNM-represented constituencies clearly preferred to be controlled by violent criminal gangs and the local drug mafia instead of being protected by law enforcement,’ the prime minister said. She confirmed that special operations would only launch in 26 UNC-held parliamentary constituencies, 70 UNC-controlled local government districts, and the two Tobago People’s Party (TPP) seats, following consultation with Tobago’s Chief Secretary Farley Augustine.

The political standoff erupted days after the Special Operations Bill passed the House of Representatives in the early hours of Saturday, capping a marathon 13-hour debate that exposed deep divides over the legislation. The bill is scheduled to open its first reading in the Senate this week, and the Opposition has already signaled it will continue to challenge the measure. PNM lawmakers have argued that the bill’s expanded powers for security forces, including the ability to conduct warrantless searches in areas designated as ‘closed areas’, would erode fundamental civil liberties and turn the twin-island nation into a police state.

Leading the Opposition charge is Port of Spain South MP Keith Scotland, who has vowed to mobilize his constituents in peaceful, legal protest against the bill. Scotland has described the legislation as a ‘sprawling assault’ on constitutional rights, warning that residents of targeted communities would face sweeping restrictions on their personal freedoms. ‘We will first go on our knees and then we’ll rise from our knees, and we’ll be on our heels and toes because we do not agree with this,’ Scotland said ahead of the House vote. Persad-Bissessar has pushed back against this criticism, noting that Scotland and his supporters are fully within their rights to protest within the bounds of the law, adding that her government has no interest in forcing security measures on communities that do not want them. ‘I’m not begging to help anyone who doesn’t want to be helped. If any community prefers to live under violent gangs that’s their choice, I’m not bothered, they can go ahead,’ she said.

The prime minister also dismissed PNM claims that the legislation would be weaponized to target Opposition strongholds, calling the allegations ‘comical manufactured drama’ rooted in race-baiting and political grifting. She argued that opponents had deliberately misrepresented her government’s intentions, noting that the bill is designed solely to crack down on organized violent crime that has plagued communities across the country for decades. ‘For three decades, law-abiding citizens have been terrorised by violent criminal gangs. Law abiding citizens have been forced to lock themselves behind burglar-proofing, security cameras, tall gates and guard dogs because of the threat of violent home invasions. Mothers and daughters have been raped in their own beds, fathers and sons beaten and our elderly tortured by these violent criminals,’ Persad-Bissessar said, defending the need for enhanced policing measures in government-held areas.

She doubled down on her position that PNM constituencies retain the democratic right to reject the additional security, arguing that their leaders’ opposition amounts to an endorsement of the status quo of gang violence. ‘The PNM are free to continue to allow their constituencies to be overrun by violent criminal gangs. They are free to allow the local drug mafia financiers to flood their constituencies with deadly drugs which poison their children and destroy their futures. It is their democratic choice to allow themselves to be destroyed from within,’ she said.

Attorney General John Jeremie has pushed back against Opposition claims that the bill will create a police state, clarifying that the expanded powers granted to security forces are limited and distinct from the sweeping emergency authority used during past states of emergency. All 26 clauses of the bill and its accompanying schedule were approved without amendment during the House vote, and the legislation now moves to the Senate for further deliberation.

A growing political firestorm has erupted in Trinidad and Tobago after Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar announced that her government would roll out the controversial Special Operations legislation exclusively in areas controlled by the ruling United National Congress (UNC). The plan has drawn sharp condemnation from opposition lawmakers, who frame the move as a reckless violation of constitutional principles and basic citizen rights.

Kareem Marcelle, the Member of Parliament for Laventille West representing the opposition People’s National Movement, issued a forceful rebuke of the Prime Minister’s statement, calling the plan irresponsible and a direct assault on the fundamental rights guaranteed to all Trinbagonian citizens. Speaking to local media outlet *Express* on Wednesday, Marcelle stressed that the proposed legislation cannot be applied on a selective, piecemeal basis across the island nation.

“This is the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, not the Republic of the UNC,” Marcelle said. As head of the national government, he added, Persad-Bissessar bears a binding duty to represent every citizen of the country, irrespective of which political party they support or align with. “Unless the Prime Minister swore an oath to the UNC alone, this statement has no place in national politics. She was elected to serve all of Trinidad and Tobago, not just her party’s strongholds,” Marcelle argued.

The opposition lawmaker went on to clarify that the Special Operations legislation is structured to divide the country into seven operational districts, not along the borders of the nation’s 41 parliamentary constituencies. Each of these districts includes a diverse mix of voters who support every major political party running in national elections, from the PNM to the UNC, the PPP and smaller groups. Marcelle noted that there is not a single district in the country that is uniformly aligned to one political party, making any selective application of the law logically and ethically untenable.

Because of this mixed political makeup across all districts, Marcelle insisted that the law cannot be enforced with different standards for different areas. Echoing a principle of equal application of the law, he said: “This bill is wrong. It is wrong for Beetham just as it is wrong for Siparia, Penal, Tobago, Sangre Grande, Tunapuna, Arima and La Horquetta. If it is wrong in any one place, it is wrong entirely.”

Beyond the issue of selective enforcement, Marcelle described the entire piece of legislation as inherently unconstitutional, arguing that it poses a direct threat to the core fundamental rights and freedoms enshrined in the national constitution. “This legislation erodes the social fabric that holds our republic together and undermines the collective well-being of all our people. That is why we must reject it in every district, no exceptions,” he said.

Marcelle confirmed that the opposition’s stance against the bill remains unshaken, regardless of how the government chooses to structure its implementation. As the duly elected official opposition of Trinidad and Tobago, the party will continue to oppose the legislation on principle. He called on the Persad-Bissessar administration to uphold the rule of law and the constitution, and to conduct meaningful public consultation before advancing any policy that could alter or restrict citizen rights.

“If the government wants to make changes that touch the very foundation of our society, the first step cannot be ramming a controversial bill through without input from the people it will affect,” Marcelle said. Instead of pushing forward with the unpopular legislation, he urged the government to hold inclusive, full public consultations, and to allocate appropriate resources to address the root of the legislation’s stated purpose: tackling violent crime and other pressing national challenges.

The opposition’s condemnation has gained support from other government-critical lawmakers. Keith Scotland, the Member of Parliament for Port of Spain South, echoed Marcelle’s core argument when contacted for comment, stating: “If it’s unconstitutional for one, it’s unconstitutional for all.” Scotland has already announced plans to mobilize his own constituents to protest the Special Operations legislation, signaling growing cross-constituency opposition to the government’s plan.

Trinidad and Tobago’s top police official has exposed far-reaching financial mismanagement within the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS), revealing that a well-documented $200 million debt-inducing loan is only the tip of the iceberg uncovered in an independent government audit. Current Commissioner of Police Allister Guevarro made the revelations this week while responding to public criticism from former TTPS chief Gary Griffith and former national security minister Marvin Gonzales, both connected to the previous People’s National Movement (PNM) administration.

The sweeping audit, commissioned, conducted and released by Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Finance, examines TTPS procurement, contracting and financial operations between 2017 and 2021. It has already confirmed a $550 million total fiscal deficit, widely described as a financial “black hole”, rooted in systemic mismanagement and multiple scandals during the PNM’s tenure. Of that deficit, $350 million in confirmed outstanding liabilities have been verified, alongside a host of troubling irregularities: unvetted multi-million-dollar contracts, useless unutilized equipment, off-contract payments, and the so-called “unified Hockey Field Scandal” cited directly in the audit document. Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander first confirmed the scope of the deficit in an exclusive interview with the Sunday Express.

One high-profile point of controversy is the $200 million government-backed loan arranged through the National Insurance Property Development Company Ltd (Nipdec), taken during the audit’s review period. But Guevarro emphasized that the problems uncovered go far beyond this single loan. Among the most alarming findings, the audit documents how a senior TTPS accounting officer, unfamiliar with the legal obligations of their position, approved irregular contracting practices that would have forced the TTPS to pay more than $100 million to a single private firm. Guevarro confirmed he intervened personally to halt the improper payment before it was processed.

The current commissioner pushed back against claims from Griffith and Gonzales that neither was aware of the independent audit’s existence or findings, calling their lack of knowledge “genuinely astonishing”. Guevarro noted that the audit’s conclusions directly address flaws in the TTPS’s financial oversight and internal governance during the period the two leaders oversaw the organization. The full final audit, officially titled “Ministry of Finance Central Audit Committee Review of the Procurement of Goods and Services and the Hiring of Staff on Contract undertaken by the TTPS for the years 2017 to 2021”, is a public document produced by independent finance ministry auditors, not an internal TTPS report, Guevarro clarified. He has publicly referenced the audit’s findings since 2023, and has repeatedly urged media outlets to access and publish the full report to inform the public.

“The now-controversial $200 million loan is only the surface. The audit outlines a staggering catalogue of procurement breaches, contract irregularities and financial mismanagement that collectively pushed the TTPS hundreds of millions of dollars into debt,” Guevarro said in his remarks to reporters. Beyond the $100 million improper payment incident, the audit identifies a pattern of systemic violations: contract splitting to bypass approval thresholds, unapproved financial commitments, premature payments to vendors, and consistent decision-making that demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding of public procurement law and basic financial stewardship for public funds.

Guevarro stressed that all the findings are the work of independent auditing experts, not his own assessment, and he has deferred to their professional conclusions. “It reveals in black and white what was actually occurring inside the TTPS during that specific period. It is now a textbook illustration of how extreme self-importance, when left unchecked, can evolve into a severe case of Dunning Kruger effect with catastrophic consequences for public funds and public trust,” he added. The Dunning–Kruger effect is a well-documented cognitive bias where individuals with limited knowledge or skill in a specific domain drastically overestimate their own competence.

As the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly’s high-level week gets underway in New York, Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar is set to launch two days of intensive high-level bilateral discussions, headlined by a much-anticipated meeting with Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez. Following the conclusion of her diplomatic schedule, the Prime Minister will return to Port of Spain on Thursday morning.

Persad-Bissessar leads the Caribbean nation’s official delegation to this year’s UNGA, with a packed itinerary that spans diplomatic, economic, and regional engagement initiatives all designed to deepen Trinidad and Tobago’s global partnerships. The sit-down with Rodríguez stands out as one of the visit’s most high-stakes encounters, coming as the two neighboring countries work to rebuild cross-border ties and expand collaboration across key sectors: energy, trade, agriculture, public security, and inclusive economic development. Ahead of her departure for New York, the Prime Minister confirmed that all logistics for the meeting have been fully finalized.

While the Prime Minister prepares for her core bilateral talks, Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs Sean Sobers already took part in the 26th Special Meeting of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) on Monday. The gathering brought together foreign ministers from across the Caricom bloc to coordinate unified regional diplomatic positions for UNGA’s high-level week. In a social media statement from New York, Sobers emphasized that his participation aligns with Trinidad and Tobago’s goal of advancing its national priorities while reinforcing collective Caribbean diplomatic action. “As Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs, I remain committed to advancing Trinidad and Tobago’s interests while working alongside our Caricom partners to strengthen regional cooperation and collective diplomacy,” he wrote.

This year’s UNGA participation carries extra weight for Trinidad and Tobago, as the country prepares to assume a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council in the coming term. The delegation’s diplomatic activity began in earnest on Monday with a full slate of engagements: opening with a breakfast-focused meeting on accelerating global collaboration around Digital Public Infrastructure, followed directly by the special COFCOR session. Additional pre-scheduled events included a meeting of foreign ministers from the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), attended by Permanent Representative to the UN Cynthia Morris, and a working lunch for foreign ministers of the Security Council’s five incoming non-permanent members.

Monday also saw Trinidad and Tobago expand its global diplomatic network with the formal establishment of diplomatic relations with North Macedonia. Bilateral discussions were also held between the foreign ministers of Trinidad and Tobago and the Philippines, and the country signed an Air Transport Agreement with Panama to boost air connectivity. On the same day, Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar held a separate bilateral meeting with Ghana’s President, during which the two countries also signed an Air Transport Agreement. The deal marks a key step forward in efforts to improve transportation links and strengthen bilateral ties between Trinidad and Tobago and the wider African continent. All attention now turns to the Prime Minister’s two days of bilateral talks, with the meeting with Venezuelan President Rodríguez taking center stage.