标签： Trinidad and Tobago

A simmering internal conflict within Trinidad and Tobago’s ruling People’s National Movement (PNM) boiled over into a formal public rebuke this week, after party chairman Marvin Gonzales issued a stark warning to San Fernando East Member of Parliament Brian Manning for dragging intra-party tensions into the public sphere. The standoff, which pits Manning against the leadership of his own constituency’s executive committee, has triggered formal party processes and raised the prospect of disciplinary action against the sitting MP if he continues to defy party norms.

The dispute first erupted last week, when Manning took to his public Facebook page to air unreserved criticism and concerns about Patricia Alexis, chair of the San Fernando East Constituency Executive. Within days, the national PNM leadership issued an initial rebuke on Thursday, urging Manning to cease public discussion of internal party business. Not to be outdone, the constituency executive itself responded via Facebook, pushing back against Manning’s allegations and defending its record.

As the public back-and-forth stretched into the weekend, top PNM leadership called an urgent press conference at the party’s Port of Spain headquarters, Balisier House, on Monday to formally address the growing rift. The full slate of senior party leadership was in attendance: vice-chairman Dr. Amery Browne, lady vice-chairman Dr. Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, deputy political leaders Colm Imbert and Sanjiv Boodhu, and general secretary Foster Cummings, signaling the gravity the party placed on the confrontation.

Gonzales told reporters that party leaders had made a good-faith attempt to resolve the dispute behind closed doors on Sunday, hosting a meeting with the San Fernando East Constituency Executive. While Manning received a formal invitation to participate in the mediation-focused gathering, he was notably absent from the talks. “Sunday evening at 5 p.m. the leadership of the party under the directive of honourable political leader met in San Fernando with the executive of the San Fernando East constituency. The Member of Parliament was invited and unfortunately, he was not present at that meeting,” Gonzales confirmed. He added that members of the constituency executive expressed profound distress over the public airing of the conflict, with many reporting that they felt their professional reputations and personal standing had been damaged by Manning’s public accusations. “Many of them were hurt on how the entire fiasco and how this issue is being played out in the public domain,” Gonzales said.

The party chairman outlined the formal timeline for resolving the conflict: an internal inquiry into the dispute between Manning and Alexis is expected to wrap up by Friday, after which the PNM central executive will convene on Saturday to review the panel’s findings. From there, the party’s general council will take up the matter in strict accordance with the PNM’s constitution.

Gonzales stressed that the PNM has long-standing, codified procedures for resolving internal disagreements, and that public name-calling and reputation attacks have no place in the party’s governance framework. “It is not a kangaroo court where these things are ventilated, where accusations are hurled in the public domain to destroy people’s character and to destroy professional reputations. These are not the ways we handle matters,” he said. Addressing Manning directly, Gonzales issued a clear warning: “Mr. Manning is going down a very dangerous path.” He urged the MP to pause, reflect, and allow the party’s internal processes to move forward without further public interference. “It is not good for the interest of the People’s National Movement and we are asking him to allow good sense to prevail and to do some introspection and some self-reflection while the party undertake its processes to resolve these matters, to please conduct himself in a disciplined format,” Gonzales added.

When it comes to potential consequences, Gonzales confirmed that the party already has received formal complaints from aggrieved members that could trigger a disciplinary investigation into Manning’s conduct. He explained that disciplinary action cannot be initiated unilaterally by party leadership; instead, it must be activated by a formal complaint from a registered PNM member, after which an official inquiry is held to determine if there are grounds for sanction. “My understanding is that members are so aggrieved and so concerned at this time that we have already started receiving complaints that we will have to perhaps conduct investigations,” Gonzales said. “It is a process but it is not one that the leadership triggers. It is one that once a complaint is received from any member then there is a process for an enquiry to determine whether or not there is any grounds for disciplinary action.”

Vice-chairman Dr. Amery Browne echoed Gonzales’ warning, urging Manning to reverse course and respect the party’s constitutionally mandated processes. “The course that you have chosen is not a wise course in these circumstances particularly when these matters are currently being addressed and under consideration, on the very organs of the PNM, mandated to treat with them in this (PNM) constitution as we speak,” Browne said. He added: “So, as a colleague as we all are, it is a word of advice. A word of advice to think again, to respect the processes, deliberations, actions, discussions, decisions, the central executive of the party of which you are a member, the general council of the party of which you are a member, the democratic processes of the People’s National Movement and avoid any unnecessary action and deflection and worst of all, any temptation to play the same cards in the public space that members of the UNC Government play every single day.”

Browne also pushed back against speculation that PNM political leader Pennelope Beckles has been absent or uncommitted to resolving the dispute, confirming that Beckles is actively overseeing the process while adhering to the party constitution. He noted that the political leader does not hold unilateral authority to remove elected constituency executives, a power reserved for party bodies under the organization’s governing document. “These processes are not taking place without dedicated and concerned leadership from our duly appointed leader. There are those who feel that a political leader is some sort of emperor, they could remove an executive, they could remove a chairman. It does not work like that,” Browne said. “Again, the party has a constitution to whom the political leader must be beholden as well.”

When contacted by local media outlet the Express for comment on the party’s rebuke Monday evening, Manning declined to make any additional public statements on the dispute.

After nearly a four-year gap in military judicial proceedings, the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force (TTDF) has launched its first court-martial at its Chaguaramas-based headquarters, centered on a reserve corporal facing two distinct military misconduct charges connected to alleged sexual wrongdoing.

The unidentified service member made his initial appearance before Judge Advocate Captain (Naval) Zin-Mark King on Tuesday, where he was formally read the two charges laid against him and entered a not guilty plea to both counts. The first accusation falls under Section 73 of the nation’s Defence Act, which prohibits the ill-treatment of junior-ranking personnel by senior service members subject to military law. The statute explicitly outlines that any service member convicted of striking or otherwise abusing a more junior subordinate can face up to two years of imprisonment if found guilty by court-martial, alongside less severe alternative penalties.

The second charge the corporal faces is Conduct Prejudicial to Good Order and Military Discipline, a violation laid out in Section 77 of Chapter 14:01 of the Defence Act. This charge carries a matching maximum sentence of two years imprisonment upon conviction, with other potential disciplinary outcomes including rank demotion, involuntary forfeiture of earned pay, and military detention.

During the opening session of the proceeding, the judge granted a request from prosecution teams to amend the official charge report against the accused. Following this action, defense counsel Kirk Cumberbatch submitted a formal motion for an adjournment of the proceedings, which was also approved by the judge. The court-martial is scheduled to resume its proceedings on August 27, when both sides will continue to present their cases and move forward with the judicial process.

Long-simmering internal friction within the People’s National Movement’s (PNM) San Fernando East constituency branch boiled over this week, when the entire sitting executive submitted their resignations effective 4 p.m. local time Thursday. The coordinated departure came on the heels of a Sunday negotiation meeting between top PNM national leadership and more than 20 constituency executive members, convened to address long-running internal disputes and review findings from an independent inquiry commissioned by the PNM General Council.

In an official statement released on behalf of the body, outgoing constituency chair Patricia Alexis confirmed that local MP Brian Manning, the son of former PNM prime minister Patrick Manning, had been extended an invitation to the Sunday talks but declined to attend and took no part in the deliberations that led to the resignation decision. The outgoing executive framed its collective step as a measure taken to prioritize the long-term health of the PNM and enable stable, ordered governance of the constituency. By stepping down, the group explained, the national party leadership and PNM National Executive will be able to install a transitional interim body, oversee preparations for internal party elections, and clear a path for a fully democratic selection of a new constituency executive.

All outgoing members have pledged full cooperation with the leadership transition and a party verification process stemming from the inquiry’s recommendations, including turning over all requested documentation and constituency records. Alexis herself has confirmed she will not stand for re-election to the chair position when a new vote is held.

The resignation follows closely on a public announcement from former PNM government minister Hazel Manning — widow of Patrick Manning and mother of current MP Brian Manning — who entered the race for the constituency chair last Saturday. Hazel Manning stated that she had been contacted by dozens of constituents alarmed by growing turmoil and questions over the conduct of sitting constituency leaders, and that she had agreed to run to restore unity and stability to the district. She described San Fernando East as a historically symbolic seat for the PNM, tied to decades of service from her family: her husband represented the constituency from 1971 until 2015, and Brian claimed the seat for the PNM in the 2020 general election. “For decades I watched my husband, and now my son Brian Manning, walk every street, take note of every issue and make sacrifices to try to reach and represent every constituent,” she said in her announcement, calling on local members to unite to “repair, recover and rebuild” the constituency branch.

PNM national chair Marvin Gonzales told reporters Thursday that the mass resignation did not catch party leadership by surprise, following the difficult Sunday discussions with the outgoing executive. Gonzales revealed that many departing executive members had reported receiving unsolicited calls and direct threats pressuring them to step down, and that family members had urged them to exit the role rather than continue working in a deeply hostile political climate. “I tried to use my persuasion as the chairman of the party to encourage them not to bow to hostilities, external hostilities, threats, intimidation, and that they have done well to keep…the San Fernando East corner of the PNM for all of the years that we have been having elections in Trinidad and Tobago,” Gonzales said, adding that the national leadership had thanked the entire outgoing group for their years of service. He acknowledged that the ongoing internal conflict had taken a significant emotional and professional toll on the executive members, saying, “I felt their pain and I felt their disappointment” after Sunday’s meeting.

The current dispute erupted after MP Brian Manning publicly aired formal concerns about the performance and conduct of Alexis and the existing constituency executive. Gonzales had previously issued a public warning to party members against airing internal disagreements in public, noting that leadership was working to address Brian Manning’s complaints privately. Despite that directive, the constituency executive released its own public response, and ultimately moved forward with the mass resignation.

In their formal statement, the outgoing executive stressed that their decision to step down should not be misinterpreted as a break from the PNM or abandonment of the San Fernando East constituency. Members noted that they had served the party and local constituents through multiple successive parliamentary representatives, and remain proud of their record defending the seat for the PNM through every recent general election. “This resignation should therefore not be interpreted as an abandonment of either the party or the constituency,” the statement read. “It is a deliberate decision to facilitate the orderly reconstitution of the constituency and, ultimately, to allow the membership to determine its leadership through the democratic processes of the party.” The group also reaffirmed its unwavering support for PNM political leader Pennelope Beckles and the current national party leadership.

While Alexis confirmed she would not run again, she noted that other individual outgoing executive members will be free to choose whether to stand for election to the new executive. The ball is now in the court of PNM national leadership to put interim governing arrangements in place ahead of the scheduled constituency executive elections to select a permanent new body.

After a two-year hiatus, the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force (TTDF) is preparing to convene its first court martial proceedings since 2022, centered on a years-old sexual misconduct allegation that lay dormant for months before being resurrected under a looming legal deadline.

The case, which stems from an incident that occurred nearly three years ago, centers on a reserve corporal accused of making unwanted sexual advances toward a female service member. The investigation was originally closed after initial evidence was collected, but went cold until the alleged victim threatened to file a formal legal suit against the TTDF, forcing the military leadership to reopen the inquiry.

Commodore Don Polo, Chief of Defence Staff, has formally approved an ordinary court martial for the accused service member. Proceedings are scheduled to kick off today at the TTDF Headquarters located in Chaguaramas. Legal timelines play a critical role in this case: under Section 128 of the national Defence Act, military court martials face a strict three-year limitation period for initiating disciplinary proceedings, meaning the current proceedings have been called just days before the window to bring the case would have expired permanently.

A structured judicial panel has been assembled to oversee the proceedings. Squadron Leader K Ramsingh will serve as the president of the court, with fellow panel members Squadron Leader S Chase and Captain D Sealey supporting the proceedings. Captain (N) ZM King has been appointed as Judge Advocate to preside over the conduct of the trial, while Captains B Francois and S Soodeensingh have been tapped to lead the prosecution. As of the opening of proceedings, the accused reservist has not yet entered a plea in response to the allegations against him.

Against the backdrop of a recent spike in disruptive bomb threats across Trinidad and Tobago, former national security minister Gary Griffith has launched a bold push for sweeping legal and operational reforms to how the country addresses these incidents. In an exclusive interview with local outlet the Express on Wednesday, Griffith argued that treating these cases solely as routine police work misses their far-reaching implications for national stability, calling for a whole-of-government response that draws on the country’s full intelligence and security infrastructure.

Griffith pointed out that repeated bomb threats, particularly those involving claims of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), do more than just disrupt daily life—they are often intended to sow widespread public panic and erode confidence in state institutions. He questioned whether current legislative frameworks are robust enough to hold perpetrators accountable for the far-reaching harm they cause, and called for a nuanced legal distinction between isolated, frivolous threats and coordinated acts designed to destabilize the nation.

Under Griffith’s proposal, cases that meet criteria for intentional destabilization should be prosecuted under existing terrorism legislation, carrying the possibility of life imprisonment for convicted offenders. He also noted that where evidence links organized criminal groups to coordinated threat campaigns, the country’s anti-gang laws should also be deployed to pursue maximum penalties. The former minister stressed that these harsher sanctions are not just punitive—they are a necessary deterrent for actors seeking to undermine national order.

Beyond legislative changes, Griffith criticized the current response model that leaves primary responsibility for investigations with the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS), arguing that this siloed approach is outdated and ineffective. He recalled that the National Operations Centre (NOC), an agency launched during his tenure as national security minister following official recommendations from the Commission of Enquiry into the 1990 attempted coup, was specifically built to fix this gap in coordination. The NOC was designed to bring together personnel from the Strategic Services Agency (SSA), the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force, and multiple divisions of the TTPS to streamline information sharing and joint operations for national security threats.

“This is a matter that demands joint collaboration across all arms of the country’s intelligence community, not just a single agency,” Griffith emphasized. He pushed back against public narratives that reduce the bomb threat wave to a routine policing issue with imminent arrests promised, calling that framing a backward approach that ignores the potential for coordinated subversion. “It is only in a backward country that you’re hearing there’s bomb threats, and it’s a police matter, and the police investigating,” he said.

Griffith clarified that his criticism of the current response structure does not reflect a lack of confidence in the country’s security personnel. He expressed unwavering optimism that perpetrators will eventually be identified and brought before the courts, grounding that confidence in the extensive training and advanced capabilities of personnel across all protective service branches, not just the TTPS. “I am very confident that this matter would be dealt with, and those persons will be brought to justice,” he said.

In closing, Griffith repeated his call for urgent review and amendment of national security legislation to close gaps that allow those who cause mass disruption and panic to face disproportionately lenient consequences. He reiterated that threats deliberately crafted to destabilize the nation and spark political upheaval deserve the same severe penalties as other acts of terrorism, arguing that this alignment of law and policy is critical to protecting public safety and national security moving forward.