Trinidad and Tobago extends State of Emergency (SoE) till October amid crime surge

Trinidad and Tobago: In a shocking development, the Parliament in Trinidad and Tobago has unanimously agreed to extend the country’s State of Emergency (SoE) which came to effect on July 18, 2025 to an additional three months. The SoE is set to remain until late October 2025  after the attorney general confirmed that the twin-island prison system has been compromised with an attempt to kill key political figures in the country. 

On Monday, the members of Parliament in the House of Representatives took the vote to extend SOE for three more months. The vote passed unanimously with 39 votes. 

Reportedly, the SoE was originally proclaimed on July 18 to last 15 days but due to the ongoing threats allegedly targeting the country’s high officials from prisons via smuggling cell phones inside the prison system. The State of Emergency has now been prolonged until October.

PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar addresses the issue at Parliament 

Speaking during the first session of the 13th parliament debate at parliament, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar reminded the parliament that the decision to implement an SOE was taken after extensive consideration. 

She proceeded to reassure the parliament and citizens of T&T that it is not a government’s crime fighting plan but rather a means of dealing with impending threats from the prisons against the State.

“So we called the State of Emergency (SoE), as I said, not to treat crime per se. It was initiated by the threat posed to the State by actors in the jail, and they were threatening our national security in this nation.We intend to keep that promise. This is but one piece of the plan.”

Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar assured the Parliament that the decision to proclaim the state of emergency since July 18 was not a bluster or theatre but stems from the commitment that was made by the government when the people of Trinidad and Tobago returned them to office. With an overwhelming mandate to keep the nation safe by action and not just give empty noise. 

Moreover, Marvin Gonzales, Member of the Opposition and Member of Parliament for Arouca/Lopinot also voiced his concerns regarding the increasing crime while contributing to the debate after taking a stand to support and laud the county's protective services for the tireless work they are doing at this time working 24/7 to protect the country. 

Other five members also took a stand to contribute to the debate before the conclusion by the attorney general John Jeremie. 

Attorney General accuses prison officers

Upon taking the stand, the Attorney General John Jeremie blamed prison officers and attorneys for helping the prison inmates  that were accused of plotting to kill the country’s high ranks. The attorney general revealed to the parliament that some of the prison officers were heard warning the inmates once the specialised agents showed up to conduct prison raids. 

“The system has been compromised, and it has been serving prisoners as a protected criminal command centre,” he said.

The authorities confirmed that the inmates that were deemed to be high risk had recently moved Trinidad’s military bases in the west. 

As part of a recent crackdown on jailed gang leaders accused of using smuggled cell phones to plot a series of robberies, assassinations, and kidnappings with help from criminal associates on the outside

Prison Officers Association responds to the accusations

The Prison Officers’ Association, which also represents prison guards, strongly denied the allegations made by Jeremie against the prison guards whom they represent. 

Noting that this was the second state of emergency that was proclaimed by the twin island in a matter of months with the last SOE being in December 2024. Where the government took similar actions after citing concerns on gang violence. 

Both government and opposition voted yes on the extension of the state of emergency a day after Trinidad and Tobago marked 35 years since the attempted coup by the Islamist group Jamaat-al-Muslimeen, which left 24 people dead.

The government confirmed that the police have made the arrest of more than 340 people and launched over 800 operations so far in order to limit any insurrection.