Trinidad and Tobago Declares State Of Emergency Due To Rising Gang Violence

In the state of emergency, the army and police will have the authority to perform warrantless searches and detain people without a charge.

The president of Trinidad and Tobago has officially declared a state of emergency due to rising gang violence in the Caribbean country.

President Christine Carla Kangaloo made the declaration on Dec. 30 after a significant uptick in killings over the weekend. Around six men died, five Sunday night right outside the nation’s capital, in the assumed gang-related issue.

“I am satisfied that a public emergency has risen as a result of the occurrence of action that has been taken, or is immediately threatened, by any person of such a nature and on so extensive a scale as to be likely to endanger the public safety; and a state of public emergency exists in TT,” said Kangaloo, as reported by Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.

The news outlet reports that Sunday’s shooting may stem from the Saturday killing of a reported gang leader. The man was shot as he and fellow members exited a police station. Government officials hope this presidential declaration will allow authorities to stop the gangs’ prominence and growing violence.

The declaration will not impose curfews on citizens and residents of the country. Businesses can operate normally. But the army and police can perform warrantless searches and detain people regardless of a charge.

Trinidad and Tobago has endured considerable gang violence, given its optimal position—near Venezuela—in the drug smuggling industry. And the weapons used are increasingly high-tech.

“We are seeing brazen behavior by these criminal elements in the use of illegal firearms, which necessitated the calling of this public state of emergency,” said Attorney General Stuart Young at a press conference that same day.

The number of murders in 2024 stands at 623, making the country one of the most dangerous in the region despite its 1.5 million population. The nation remains at a Level 3 advisory for U.S. travelers, a designation that encourages Americans to “reconsider travel” due to terrorism and kidnapping.