Trinidad and Tobago declares state of emergency to combat gang violence | Gun Violence News

The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean a emergency situation in response to an increase in gang violence over the weekend.

The proclamation gives police additional powers as they try to stop repressive killings and other gang-related activities.

Acting Attorney General Stuart Young said: “Declaring and invoking a state of emergency is not something to be taken lightly.” press conference on monday.

He explained that information from the Trinidad and Tobago police service “dictated and compelled the necessity of this extreme action that we took this morning.”

The state of emergency gives the country’s police the power to arrest people “on suspicion of involvement in illegal activities.” It would also allow law enforcement agencies to “search and enter both public and private buildings” and freeze bail.

The government statement stated that no curfew would be imposed, and freedom of public assembly or demonstration would not be hindered.

Young said a spike in violence in the capital Port of Spain over the weekend prompted the declaration of a state of emergency early Monday.

“You will recall that there was a shooting with a high-caliber automatic weapon in front of the Besson Street police station on Saturday after 3 o’clock in the afternoon,” Young explained.

Local media described the shooting as an ambush.

Suspected gang leader Calvin Lee arrived at the police station to sign the bail book, but as he and his entourage left, gunmen emerged from a nearby van and opened fire, reports The Daily Express.

One person died. Lee himself managed to escape. But Young explained that the shooting led to reprisal killings among local gangs.

According to him, 6 people were shot in Laventille on the outskirts of Port of Spain within 24 hours. Five of them were killed. Additional reprisal attacks are still expected, Young said.

“Increased repression activities by criminal elements in and around certain locations in Trinidad and Tobago can be expected, which has immediately warranted and moved us away from what we might consider the norm,” he said.

He refused to name specific places where the group’s activities could be concentrated.

“But I can say that in Trinidad and possibly Tobago (criminal gangs) will immediately increase their brazen acts of violence in reprisals on such a large scale that they threaten people and endanger public safety.”

Young added that the decision to declare a state of emergency was partly a result of the use of high-caliber weapons in the attacks, which made bystanders more likely to die.

He noted the presence of AK-47 and AR-15 weapons.

“Over the last month, and actually to achieve this, the government has been concerned about the use of high-powered, illegal firearms — high-caliber firearms, automatic weapons, which are unfortunately a scourge throughout the Caribbean region. ” said the young man.

Caribbean countries do not produce the firearms themselves and many of the weapons used in gang violence were illegally imported.

One source in particular stands out: United States of America. It is the world’s largest arms exporter.

Stockholm Institute for International Peace Studies in March found The United States is the source of about 42 percent of global arms exports, he said.

A 2017 analysis The Small Arms Survey also found that the U.S. owns the most personal guns per capita, with U.S. civilians owning 40 percent of the world’s firearms.

Weapons from the United States have been linked to crimes throughout the Caribbean, from Haiti and Jamaica to Trinidad and Tobago.

The United States has partnered with 13 Caribbean countries to curb the illegal firearms trade. Between 2018 and 2022, an estimated 7,399 firearms recovered from crimes in the region were sent to the United States for investigation.

In October, the US Government Accountability Office released a report outlining its findings. Of all firearms acquired and tracked during those four years, a total of 5,399 — or 73 percent – He came from the USA. Several hundred more were of uncertain origin.

The proliferation of illegal firearms has been linked to increased violence in the Caribbean. For example, Trinidad and Tobago is struggling with a record homicide rate.

According to the government, 61 murders occurred in December alone. By 2024, 623 murder cases were registered in the country.

National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds MP said at a press conference on Monday: “263 of them belong to gangs.

“Ultimately, we believe this public emergency declaration is about confronting criminals and giving law enforcement easier access to them than usual in light of the crises they present to this country.”