标签： Trinidad and Tobago

Speaking at a high-level private sector dialogue hosted alongside the 56th Organisation of American States General Assembly in Panama on Sunday, Trinidad and Tobago Government Minister Nicholas Morris has issued a urgent call for systemic reforms to how Caribbean nations access development financing, warning the region’s most pressing challenges cannot be resolved by individual nations alone and demand coordinated regional collaboration backed by consistent, reliable funding.

Against a backdrop of rising global geopolitical and economic fragmentation, Morris, who serves in the Office of the Prime Minister, emphasized that multilateral cooperation remains the most effective pathway for small island states to advance their long-term development objectives. His remarks were delivered during a dedicated strategic session focused on multilateralism as a collective response to global crises, and the strategic role of regional bodies in turning discussion into tangible action for the Greater Caribbean.

Morris outlined that the ongoing dialogue reinforced just how critical multilateral institutions and collective action are, particularly as Caribbean countries navigate mounting economic and social strain. He stressed that policy conversations can no longer stop at reflection — tangible, actionable progress is needed immediately, especially when it comes to development resourcing.

The minister painted a clear picture of overlapping, interconnected challenges facing the Caribbean region: extreme climate vulnerability, persistent food and energy insecurity, rapidly rising sovereign debt levels, and growing threats from transnational organized crime. He also drew attention to the ongoing risk of de-risking by large international financial institutions, a practice that cuts off smaller Caribbean economies from critical global banking and financial services, further stifling growth.

According to Morris, the combination of these overlapping challenges has rendered traditional development financing frameworks obsolete, leaving outdated mechanisms unable to meet the region’s current needs. “The central challenge is not only the availability of financing, but its accessibility, predictability, and alignment with regional priorities,” he explained.

He added that Caribbean nations already operate with severely constrained fiscal space, leaving them disproportionately exposed to external economic shocks and destructive natural disasters that can erase years of development progress in days. As a result, entirely new, innovative approaches to resourcing are required to build regional resilience and advance inclusive sustainable development across the Caribbean.

Morris called for far greater mobilization of blended and innovative financing instruments to tackle the region’s development gaps. He argued that deeper, more effective partnerships with global development finance institutions are essential, alongside expanded access to concessional financing for the region’s most vulnerable economies. The minister stressed that development financing frameworks must be adapted to reflect the unique realities small island developing states face, noting that many Caribbean nations are classified as middle-income countries despite facing extreme climate and economic vulnerabilities that outpace those of many lower-income nations.

His remarks echo longstanding grievances from Caribbean governments, who have repeatedly argued that traditional eligibility criteria for concessional funding lock nations out of critical support even as their development challenges grow more severe.

Morris also turned attention to the need for institutional evolution within the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), arguing the organization must transition from its current role as a primarily consultative forum to a functional mechanism that can coordinate tangible cross-border action.

“It is precisely in this context that the ACS must be positioned not merely as a consultative body but as a genuine instrument of coordinated regional action,” he said. Morris argued the ACS is uniquely positioned to take a leading role in coordinating and attracting financing for high-impact regional projects, identifying priority areas including cross-border infrastructure development, climate adaptation initiatives, digital transformation programs, and expanded investment in the blue economy. He suggested the organization could serve as a practical convening platform that brings together national governments, multilateral development institutions, and international investors around shared, actionable regional development objectives.

The minister also highlighted the critical importance of deepening strategic relationships with non-traditional international partners that can bring new investment capital and innovative development financing models to the region. He welcomed the participation of senior delegates from the United Arab Emirates, the Gulf Cooperation Council, and the OECD Development Centre at the dialogue, noting their presence signals growing interest in strategic partnerships beyond the region’s traditional development collaborators. Morris noted that these new partnerships can unlock unprecedented financing and investment opportunities across the Greater Caribbean, pointing to Trinidad and Tobago’s existing bilateral engagement with the United Arab Emirates as a working example of the benefits these relationships can deliver.

While underscoring the foundational value of regional cooperation and strategic planning, Morris emphasized that accessible, adequate financing remains the make-or-break factor for delivering on regional development goals. “Without adequate and accessible financing, even the most well-designed regional strategies risk remaining aspirational,” he warned.

Closing his remarks, Morris expressed Trinidad and Tobago’s gratitude for the longstanding support the country and region have received from international development partners, and reaffirmed the country’s commitment to expanding and deepening these strategic relationships. He said the Trinidad and Tobago government remains focused on strengthening and diversifying regional and global partnerships as part of broader efforts to accelerate inclusive, sustainable development across the entire Greater Caribbean.

A controversial annual report from the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) has sent ripples through Trinidad and Tobago’s law enforcement community, revealing that police were involved in 60 fatal shootings between October 1, 2024, and September 30, 2025 — the highest one-year death toll from police encounters in over a decade. The data, included in the PCA’s 15th annual report, was recently presented to Parliament, and it shows that independent oversight body launched full investigations into every one of these fatal incidents.

Trinidad and Tobago’s acting Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro has defended the recent arrest and charging of well-known local social activist Alyssa Phillip and her mother Camille Caresquero, after the pair joined the country’s annual permitted Labour Day procession in Fyzabad on Friday without formal authorisation for their separate group.

Both women now face three criminal offenses each in connection with the incident. For Phillip, the charges include leading an unauthorised public procession, refusing an official order to disperse the group, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest by law enforcement officers. Caresquero is charged with participating in an unlawful procession, obstructing a police officer in the course of their duties, and resisting arrest.

This arrest marks the second time the mother-daughter activist pair has been taken into custody for protest-related activity in recent weeks. They are currently out on bail pending trial for separate charges stemming from an unsanctioned demonstration outside the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in Port of Spain last month. Earlier in May, both women pleaded not guilty to all charges connected to that earlier protest before Magistrate Indira Rmarine Misir-Gosine.

Phillip and Caresquero have become prominent figures in Trinidad and Tobago’s local activist space, leading a series of public demonstrations and community vigils calling for greater accountability and transparency in the criminal justice system. Their protests stem from the controversial charging of Kaia Sealy with manslaughter and firearms-related offenses in connection with the January 20 police-involved shooting death of her husband Joshua Samaroo in St Augustine.

In a formal public statement released on Sunday, titled *TTPS Reaffirms the Rule of Law During Labour Day Procession*, the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) addressed widespread public discussion and debate surrounding the arrests, emphasizing that all enforcement action was carried out in full compliance with existing national legislation.

Commissioner Guevarro noted that the TTPS fully recognizes and upholds all constitutionally protected rights of citizens to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. However, he stressed that these fundamental rights are not absolute and must be exercised within the boundaries set out by national law.

Guevarro added that law enforcement officers acted with full professionalism and clear adherence to procedural guidelines throughout the incident. “It is regrettable that enforcement became necessary, but the sanctity of the Labour Day procession should never be compromised by persons seeking to attach unrelated agendas to a permitted national event,” Guevarro said in the statement.

Under Trinidad and Tobago’s Summary Offences Act, all public marches require a formal permit issued directly by the Commissioner of Police, with written applications submitted within a statutorily defined timeframe. The commissioner has the authority to approve or deny permit applications based on assessments of public safety and public order risk. The national trade union movement, which organizes the annual Labour Day procession, completed all required legal steps and received full official approval for this year’s event, the TTPS confirmed.

According to the TTPS’s account of Friday’s incident, Phillip and a small group of her supporters, none of whom were affiliated with the organizing trade union movement, attempted to join the back of the authorised procession. Officers confirmed with event organizers that the activist group was not a formal part of the permitted event, then notified Phillip that her group’s participation would constitute a separate, unauthorised public march that required its own permit. Police also warned the group that their unauthorised presence risked jeopardizing the entire permitted Labour Day event.

Despite multiple formal warnings, the activist group moved forward and joined the procession as an unauthorised tail contingent. In line with Section 116 of the Summary Offences Act, a senior police officer of the required rank formally ordered Phillip, as the group’s leader, to direct the assembly to disperse. When Phillip refused to comply with the lawful order, officers moved in to arrest both her and Caresquero.

The TTPS further grounded its enforcement action in a recent High Court ruling delivered by Justice Ricky Rahim in the case *Walker v Attorney General (CV2023-00302)*. That ruling explicitly clarified the legal distinction between static public meetings and moving public marches, and reaffirmed that all public marches require prior written permission from the Commissioner of Police, regardless of whether they intend to attach themselves to an already permitted event.

“The judgment confirms that any group wishing to participate in a public march must have a permit, and that attaching an unauthorised procession to a lawful one is a breach of the act,” the TTPS statement noted. “The activist group in question did not give notice of a meeting, nor did they apply for or receive a permit for a march. Their actions, therefore, fell squarely within the statutory definition of an unlawful public march.”

Police officials added that enforcement action was necessary to prevent potential escalation of unrest, protect all attendees of the authorised Labour Day event, uphold the rule of law, and preserve the integrity of the national legislative framework governing public assemblies. “Allowing an unpermitted procession to merge with a lawful one would have undermined the event, created security risks, and violated the legal framework governing public marches,” the statement said.

The TTPS concluded by reaffirming its ongoing commitment to upholding all constitutional rights of Trinidad and Tobago citizens, enforcing the law equally and without bias, ensuring that national public events proceed safely and without disruption, and engaging with the public in a transparent and respectful manner. The service also issued a reminder to all activist and community groups seeking to hold public marches that completion of the formal permit process is required to avoid similar enforcement action in the future.

One year into his tenure leading the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS), Commissioner Allister Guevarro has opened up about the service’s ongoing anti-misconduct efforts, public trust challenges, and legal barriers to greater transparency in policing. In a candid interview held Thursday at the Port of Spain Police Administration Building, Guevarro confirmed a striking statistic: 290 officers across the TTPS are currently suspended amid ongoing disciplinary or criminal proceedings – a figure that has not been made public by the current leadership until now.

The Commissioner emphasized that this large number of suspensions is not a sign of systemic failure, but rather proof that robust accountability mechanisms are active within the service. When he first took office, Guevarro noted, he was immediately confronted with a string of alleged misconduct cases, and he made rooting out corrupt and unethical actors within the TTPS a top priority from day one. “We try to root out the negative elements within the Police Service itself,” he stated.

To illustrate the service’s action against misconduct, Guevarro pointed to the high-profile case of Police Constable Stefon Khan. Khan was arrested and suspended earlier this year after an investigation found he had stolen $242,000 worth of marijuana seized as evidence from the Chaguanas Police Station, replacing the cannabis blocks with packages of wood and a ceramic tile. The officer was charged with misbehaviour in public office and brought before the court in May, a resolution that the public was broadly aware of – but Guevarro says that for most cases, the public never learns what action is taken after allegations first surface.

A core challenge the TTPS faces, Guevarro explained, is the widespread public perception that police misconduct is rarely punished. While initial allegations against officers often draw intense public and media attention, the subsequent disciplinary processes, arrests, and court proceedings rarely gain the same level of public interest. Even when the TTPS issues official statements about case outcomes, Guevarro noted that social media conversations still frequently question whether misconduct cases are ever actually prosecuted, with many users asking for updates on old cases months after announcements have been made.

The last time a similar suspension count was made public was in 2020, when then-Commissioner Gary Griffith revealed 280 officers were suspended with full pay, costing taxpayers an estimated $50 million annually. Guevarro did not address the cost of the current 290 suspensions in his comments, but he framed the current figure as evidence that multiple accountability bodies – including the TTPS’ own Professional Standards Bureau, internal disciplinary units, and the independent Police Complaints Authority (PCA) – are actively working to hold officers to account. “We are able to investigate, arrest and charge our own,” he said, adding that these systems demonstrate the TTPS’ commitment to removing officers who break the law or violate professional standards.

Guevarro also touched on public confidence in his leadership and the broader police service. He shared that internal polls conducted after his first 100 days in office showed he held an 80% public approval rating, but stressed that his personal popularity does not equate to public trust in the entire TTPS. “Guevarro is not the TTPS,” he said. “I am the leader of the organisation, and it is for me to take decisions and operate in a particular way with integrity and everything else that comes with the office.”

Beyond misconduct accountability, Guevarro highlighted a key legal barrier that limits the TTPS’ ability to build public trust through transparency: current restrictions on releasing evidence that is part of active court proceedings. He explained that this is most often an issue with body-worn camera footage, even in cases where the video clearly vindicates officers’ actions.

As an example, he cited a recent controversial shooting in Tunapuna, where an officer responded to a domestic violence call, was stabbed by a suspect, and fatally shot the man during the confrontation. The officer was wearing a body camera that clearly captured the unprovoked attack and the circumstances that justified the shooting, but Guevarro said the TTPS is legally prohibited from releasing that footage to the public to clear up misinformation about the incident. The same restriction applies to other high-profile pending cases, including the Joshua Samaroo matter, he added.

“Under our current laws, as long as that footage is to become part of evidence before the court, cannot be shown,” Guevarro explained, noting that releasing such information could be considered prejudicial to a fair trial and impact the final judicial outcome. “I still can’t even show that to the public.”

The Commissioner said he supports opening national discussions to reform policies around body-worn camera footage, pointing to existing frameworks in the United States and United Kingdom that allow for greater public disclosure in appropriate cases. However, he emphasized that any reform would require buy-in and changes from multiple stakeholders across the criminal justice system, including lawmakers and the Judiciary, not just the TTPS. Guevarro framed the issue as part of a broader national conversation about balancing transparency, public accountability, and fair administration of justice in Trinidad and Tobago.