TRINIDAD-PM warns of another State of Emergency if threats re-emerge.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago, CMC – Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar says she will not hesitate to declare another […]
Black News
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago, CMC – Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar says she will not hesitate to declare another State of Emergency (SoE) if serious threats to the safety and security of citizens re-emerge.
Persad-Bissessar made the statement in a Facebook post after the House of Representatives passed the Special Operations (SO) Bill, 2026, shortly after midnight on Saturday.
“Next week, the SO Bill will be passed in the Senate without amendments. However, if serious threats to the safety and security of citizens re-emerge, I will not hesitate to put the country under another SoE,” she said.
The Prime Minister described the recently concluded State of Emergency as “highly successful”, saying 3,552 people were charged during the period.
She also issued a warning to what she described as the local drug mafia and violent gangs.
“The cells at Teteron and MSP await again if you continue your criminal behavior,” she said, referring to Teteron Barracks, a military base for the Trinidad and Tobago Regiment in Chaguaramas where high-profile individuals and alleged gang leaders connected to organized crime were held during the SoE, and the Maximum Security Prison in Arouca.
“You have tortured and terrorized law-abiding citizens for three decades, and that must come to an end.”
Persad-Bissessar warned that those involved, as well as their families and supporters, would “continue to face harsh and brutal consequences” if law-abiding citizens could not live in peace because of their actions.
The Prime Minister also criticized the Opposition People’s National Movement, as well as what she described as certain commentators and groups, accusing them of wanting “a criminal state”.
She contended that “all law-abiding citizens support the Special Operations Bill” and said her government would continue to work in the best interests of citizens.
The Special Operations Bill, which replaces the previous Zones of Special Operations legislation, establishes seven policing districts and allows authorities to declare specific locations within those districts “closed areas” for limited periods.
Once declared, authorities may impose measures including curfews, cordons, checkpoints, road closures and restrictions on entry and exit. The legislation also provides for searches without a warrant in specified circumstances.
However, Opposition MP for Port-of-Spain South, Senior Counsel Keith Scotland, had argued that the legislation infringes fundamental rights and should have been subject to constitutional requirements for legislation affecting those rights.
Scotland said the Opposition supports stronger policing, intelligence-led operations and efforts to dismantle criminal organizations. Still, it argued that existing laws, including the Offenses Against Persons Act, Anti-Gang Act and Firearms Act, already give authorities powers to address criminal activity.
He also criticized the level of executive discretion under the legislation, particularly regarding curfews, cordons and warrantless searches.
Jeremie rejected those concerns, maintaining that the measures were proportionate to the threat posed by violent crime.
