Trinidad and Tobago back under State of Emergency as gang violence surges

Trinidad and Tobago is once again under State of Emergency amid a major spike in gang violence activities. This comes after Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar announced that President of the twin island nation Christine Kangaloo has declared the emergency which has come into effect from today onwards (March 3, 2026).

PM Kamla said that the emergency comes after urgent advice from the National Security Council of Trinidad and Tobago. The last SoE ended in January this year however officials said that there has since been a major spike in violent criminal activities which includes mass shootings related to organised criminal gangs.

During the meeting on Monday with the security council, the NSC received security briefings from Chief of Defence Staff Don Polo, Commissioner of Police Allister Guevarro and Strategic Services Agency head Alicia Henry.

PM Persad-Bissessar revealed that intelligence reports point towards credible threats which targeted prison officers, police officers and other members of the legal and security services. She said that she had already warned criminal elements as well as recently released detainees which the government will not hesitate to take decision action against if the violence continues to persist.

The Prime Minister further reiterated that the ones involved in gang activity would be returned to jail and that individuals who help them could also face several consequences under the law of Trinidad and Tobago.

She defended this move as part of the zero tolerance strategy of the government against crime and cited what she described as a highly successful joint operations by the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service as well as the Armed Forces over the last ten months and legislative measures which are strived at boosting the criminal justice system.

According to her, the government is determined to prevent recent gains in reducing murder rates as well as violent crime from being reversed.